Mekton: Starblade Battalion - A Story of the Starblade Battalion
by S.Hagen
Summary: Humanity almost destroyed the Earth, but stopped at the brink of total eco-collapse. The Gaian Circle now will go to any length to protect all planets from the exploitation of man while the Soligen Corporation seeks unfettered expansion into the galaxy. War is inevitable between these two. A war that will mean the deaths of billions unless stopped.
1. Episode 1

**A Story of the Star Blade Battalion** "What am I supposed to do? Leave Japan, then what?"  
Episode 1 (2180.04.29)

Author's Notes: In 1996 I picked up the Campaign Setting 'Starblade Battalion' for R. Talsorian's game system, Mekton during a Christmas visit home. When I got back to Japan I flipped through the book and I enjoyed it. It may have been, as some people said, R. Tal's attempt to copy Babylon 5 (don't quite think that was true), but I liked it. So I decided to make up a character, and wrote that character's background, and that is what you will find below.

I posted it, just for the heck of it, and found out people liked it, including some of the people who worked at R. Talsorian games. I took that as a good sign and continued to write it; eventually it was 41 episodes/chapters long. It was a very rough piece of work, and I always planned to rewrite it, clean up all the errors, and tighten up the story.

* * *

Opening Credits (For that Anime Series Feel)

Music: Life During Wartime (Talking Heads)

Open on the area around the Ranoxis system. We see the SAC Fleet Carrier Macedonia and several cruisers. Suddenly a group of ODF ships appear out of nowhere on the flank of the SAC fleet. They open up with their spinal rail guns, ripping into the SAC ships. During the battle the Macedonia is holed several times and explodes, a plasma fireball filling the screen. When the fireball fades the screen is filled with a shot of Earth.

While the back ground changes, each planet with a significant human population being shown, in the foreground we get a look at all the characters that play a major part in the story. First we get a close up of their faces, then the view zooms back so we can see their entire body before they are obscured by the next. It's all pretty fast.

Next we see a Midnight Sun Harbinger as it blasts its way into a city and begins to lay waste to everything around it.

A space battle between the ODF and the SAC, it is a chaotic scene, with ships and mecha flying all over the place, a large number of units being destroyed.

A shot of Emiko's face, she is looking wistful, many lights are reflected in her eyes. The camera pulls back, and then swings around so it is behind her. We see she is standing on a roof, looking out over the Tokyo geofront.

A well dressed man addresses a board room. He has a confident smile on his face as he speaks to a group of men and women. Through the window we see huge trees.

A woman with short brown hair, her left eye partially covered by the bangs, stands in the rain in a forest clearing. Several men stand around her. She has a rifle in one hand, a pistol in the other. One of the others moves and suddenly she is spinning, firing both weapons, hitting her opponents. They fall around her.

A very attractive woman with long blonde hair and green eyes sits in the pilot seat of a mecha. She is jerking the controls around, being thrown against the restraint straps, her hair flying around her in zero-G. The Mecha she is in fades in, a dark blue Manticore with silver trim. The Manticore spins, the huge gauss cannon tearing several SAC suits to pieces.

A handsome man with long black hair sits in a ships cockpit, hands flying across the controls, being thrown against the restraining straps of his seat. His ship fades in around him, a streamlined, leaf shaped ship that is moving in a way a ship that size has no right to do as it evades the attacks of mecha.

The Harbinger and a dark blue Manticore with silver trim are fighting in the middle of a city. They are punching at each other, each hit tearing armour from the other unit.

The woman with the short brown hair grabs Emiko, pushing her into cover before turning around, a rifle in each hand, firing rapidly at something off the screen.

Emiko working at a keyboard, the man from the boardroom, the Manticore pilot, the ship pilot and the woman with the short brown hair are looking over her shoulder at the data on the screen.

With the song reaching its end we have the characters flash across the screen again, ending with all of them standing together in a group shot.

Opening Credits End

* * *

Buildings rained down on her, smashing into the floor of the cavern, exploding into fragments of glass and steel that did not touch her.

It was all so strangely silent except for the wind that crooned in her ear as if it was trying to tell her something. It was all so beautiful, except for it was so terrible.

Then it was gone as her eyes fluttered open.

High above her were the buildings of a great city, anchored to the ceiling of the cavern, not falling and likely never to do so.

She held up her hand, almost as if she thought to touch them, but they were far, far beyond her reach.

The sound that had woken her became clear, now that her mind was no longer fogged with sleep. It was the chimes, announcing something had begun or ended. She looked up at the watch on her wrist. Lunch would have just ended and she had slept through it; as well as half her morning classes. That would explain why she was feeling a little hungry.

Sitting up she looked around her, at the enormous Geofront in which the reborn city of Tokyo had been built. The lights of the city blended together and faded off into forever in the distance and that suddenly made her feel a little lonely. Ridiculous considering the city's huge population; she was anything but alone.

Behind her she heard the creak of the door opening and talking.

"There you are," someone said. "I found her!"

In a moment several girls had come up on the roof to stand around her. Like her they wore a uniform, a grey, pleated skirt, with a white blouse and a red ribbon tied around their necks.

"Emi-chan," one said, standing directly over her. "Cutting class again? You're going to get in trouble." Her tone was cross, but she was smiling.

"I'm sorry Alice-chan," Emiko said, returning the young woman's smile.

Alice shook her head and then sat down on the roof, brushing her skirt smooth.

"How do you expect to pass your entrance exams if you keep this up?" she asked.

"I have no idea," Emiko was still smiling.

"They should extend the slacker law to students you know," Yuki said as she knelt down. Her tone was cross as well, but there was no smile from her to take the sting from the words. As far as she was concerned Emiko was a girl destined for trouble. "You probably will be turned out of the city soon enough."

"Yuki-chan you always say that," Emiko said, still smiling. "You said it in junior high; you say it more since we came to senior high."

"That's because it is true!" she said angrily.

"Yuki-chan," Alice warned, "don't say such foolish things."

Alice was the obvious leader of the girls, as much as such a group could have one, and Yuki did not say anything else.

"Ahhh, everyone, listen, listen," a girl named Keiko said.

Emiko watched as all the other girls got far off looks on their faces, as they listened to some sort of concert through the cybernetic dataweb. She could have pulled out her computer and listened as well, at least to the music, but she did not bother. Apparently true appreciation of mindsongs could only be achieved through a datalink.

The nanotech datalinks that all her friends had were something else that had generated distance between Emiko and them. She had refused to get the implant that the others had all happily received in the recent months, as they had turned 17 years old. Emiko had had been nearly hysterical about her refusal to accept the cybernetic interface. Her parents had, against their better judgment they said, acquiesced to her wishes.

It put her at a slight disadvantage, as all other adults had instant access to the dataweb and all the information within. Emiko had learned to depend more and more on her computer over the past several months.

Still, most everyone she knew thought her both strange, and in some odd way, crippled. Emiko did not mind though. She was happier without the implant, for the time being at least. She did not know what the future would bring.

The music must have ended because suddenly Alice's attention was focused on Emiko, a slight flush across her face. Alice continually felt bad whenever they excluded Emiko from something like that. Emiko only smiled at her to reassure her that there were no hurt feelings.

"Well, what did I miss?" Emiko asked good naturedly.

"Why should we tell you?" Yuki asked, actually sneering.

"I don't know," Emiko said after a moment.

"I swear..." Yuki shook her head.

"Yuki-chan," Alice warned, starting the other girl down, frowning. When Yuki turned away Alice looked to Emiko, smiling once more. "It was nothing. I'll lend you my note book for the classes you missed this morning."

"I love you," Emiko said with a laugh.

"Slacker," Yuki said softly, obviously upset.

* * *

"Why does Yuki-chan seem to hate you?" Alice asked Emiko as they waited for their train. The school day was over and both girls were going home.

"I don't know." Emiko shrugged her shoulders.

"Emi-chan," Alice warned.

"I don't really know. Almost since the first day we met she has been telling me that I am going to fail at everything."

"But you don't, which bothers her, but why is she so certain that you'll fail?"

Emiko smiled and simply shrugged her shoulders again.

Alice just laughed and then sighed. "Poor, poor Emiko."

"I know."

The two of them stood there in silence for a time, waiting for the train

Emiko was not an unattractive girl, but it was unlikely she would ever be called beautiful. Her nose was just a little too small and her chin a little too weak. She had her black hair cut short, the ends barely touching her shoulders. Her brown eyes were perhaps her best feature, large and expressive. She also seemed to have retained what people might call baby fat, which gave her features a slightly rounded appearance.

The overall effect tended towards a certain, immature appearance, that one might call cute, but it did not suit a young woman really.

Alice on the other hand was simply a beautiful young woman. She had long red hair and blue eyes and was probably the most popular girl in the school. It was funny that she and Emiko were friends as Emiko had never really gone out of her ways to become friends with her or anyone else. It had just sort of happened.

"Finally, here's our train," Alice said.

The two young women boarded, found some seats, and then talked about inconsequential things for the entire trip. The talk around them was anything but.

The battle of the Northern Rings was on most people's minds. The Colonists had attacked an SAC Battle Fleet, destroying it; if the stories were true.

People were angry, and scared, for the possibility of an interstellar war suddenly seemed very real.

To Emiko and her school friends such a thing was far off possibility, worth a little concern, but not too much. They had other things, like practice exams, to focus on and worry about. The new school year was not even a month old and already Emiko's friends felt they were being buried by the work. Emiko could never really bring herself to care enough about the school work to obsess about it.

"Well, I'll see you later," Alice said as she stood, for the train was slowing as it approached the next station, Alice's stop.

"Hai," Emiko said.

Then Alice was gone, heading out of the train car.

Emiko did not have to sit alone for long as her stop was next.

She got off the train and headed home.

Home in her case was a small, but comfortable, apartment in a small building building.

"I'm back," Emiko called out as she opened the apartment door.

"Welcome back," she heard her mother call from within the apartment.

Emiko slipped out of her shoes and stepped up, out of the genkan into the apartment proper. Kneeling down she arranged her shoes neatly then took a pair of slippers from the cabinet by the door.

"How was school today?" her mother asked as she came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel.

Emiko reached into her briefcase, pulled out a sheet of paper, and handed it to her mother. It was the practice test they had done that day.

Her mother took it and looked it over. "Emiko-chan," she said sharply. "This is terrible, look at this mark!"

"I know," Emiko said, drawing the 'o' of 'know' out, rolling her eyes. It was not too bad a mark really; she had placed in the top third of the class. However, she knew, the top third was not good enough for her mother, was not good enough for her to get into Sydney University. The same University her parents and older brother had attended.

"Don't take that tone," her mother snapped. "Don't you understand? You have to study hard if you want to accomplish anything."

"I'll try my best" Emiko said, standing up straighter. She wondered if she should salute her mother. It probably would not be a good idea Emiko decided. Her mother's sense of humour was a chancy thing.

"I swear!" Her mother shook her head. "What will your father say when he gets home?"

"Papa is coming home?"

"The day after tomorrow."

"Dirty Tricks is letting him come home at a time like this?"

"Don't call fleet intelligence Dirty Tricks," her mother told her, exasperation with anger creeping into her tone.

"Yes ma'am," Emiko said, knowing that she had better be careful. Her mother had almost slapped her once for not being respectful enough in her attitude towards the SAC (Stellar Armaments Command) as well as the related government. Emiko could still remember her mother's raised hand, and the way that she had trembled as she had held herself back from striking. Suddenly feeling guilty Emiko nodded and said. "I know. I'm sorry Mama."

Her mother shook her head then turned and went back into the kitchen. Emiko sighed and walked towards her bedroom. Education Mama and a Gaian fanatic; a bad combination really.

Emiko knew that part of her mother's problem was whenever she looked at Emiko her mother was seeing a failure, but not a failure on Emiko's part. It was her own failure. She had two children. What sort of Gaian had two children? When the world was in such a state even one child was too many, at least as far as the hardline Gaians thought.

Emiko had been an accident, something her parents had never bothered to hide from her. They both loved her, but, to her mother especially, she was a bit of an embarrassment. An embarrassment to Gaian beliefs that put the planet first.

Going to her small bedroom, Emiko tossed her school briefcase onto her bed then went to sit at the small desk.

Slacker.

She thought back on Yuki's word. Maybe she would be. Maybe she was.

Not that it was something to look forward to or aspire to. She would be thrown out of the city if the authorities decided she could not contribute to society. Outside, to survive or die as she would. Probably die. With the pollution and the predators-mostly on two legs-and the diseases and the lack of food and the, well, everything, what chance did she stand? For all that hanging over her, she still could not find it in herself to care all that much.

Her father was coming home. Well, it probably had nothing to do with a family visit. He would have business in the city, things to take care of, likely related to the coming war people spoke of. He would sleep and maybe eat at that apartment but would have little time for much else.

Giving up on those thoughts she reached back to grab her briefcase from the bed. From it she pulled out her computer. The computer was placed on her desk; she then opened her top desk drawer and began removing a collection of very illegal computer ware.

After she had put on a pair of AR glasses (thing, gold wire frames with round lenses) she slotted a booster into her computer, not so illegal in itself, but the hardwired programming in it was another story. Into the booster she slotted her anonymous box, a trace direct, two pulsers, a burner and decrypter.

It was a completely illegal set up, meant for little else but hacking and cyber terrorism. She often wondered what her mother might do if she were to find out what her daughter did while she should be studying.

It did not do to dwell on it.

She pressed the power switch and went to work.

The dataweb was an amazing piece of tech, almost anything one could want was on it. Almost. The most secure systems, and therefore the ones with the most interesting information in them, were most often completely disconnected from the web. To get into them either required going right to their physical locations and hooking in, or being clever, and not just a little lucky.

Emiko preferred the later approach.

The Science Council computer in Tokyo was of course not hooked up the web; most of the time. Once or twice a day a constantly changing gate would open, connecting the computer node in Tokyo to the rest of the web for necessary communication before it would close up again. Not much time to do anything, even if one could find where the gate was.

Emiko, through one of her mother's friends-having a Gaian fanatic for a mother was useful in some cases-had gotten hold of the logarithm used for the opening of the gates.

That was the biggest hurdle. After that it was just a matter of dropping a series of time delay viruses into the system, then showing up at the gate to collect any that hopped out. Like throwing a bottle into the ocean and then waiting for it to return with a message in it.

It took time, a lot of time, and the returns were often minor at best, but it was something.

She had been doing such illegal things for years now, but it had only been in the past year that she had actually been given a focus.

That focus was her brother's friend Takashi, a reporter who needed sources. That the friendship between her brother and Takashi would come to a spectacular end if what she was doing was found out was something that Emiko was always aware of; however she was more concerned about what would happen to her if she were found out.

Well, perhaps not concerned. If she were really concerned she would not being doing what she did. Aware was the better way to put it.

She checked her computer and the time running on it; the next gate was not going to open for almost two hours. She reached over to her briefcase and pulled out Alice's notebook. She might as well do something productive with her time before her mother called her for dinner.

* * *

Two hours later Emiko scooped up the datapack one of her viruses had brought out to her, sheathing it in a stealth membrane before the free floating antibodies could get at it. After copying the data onto her local system she gave it a quick look. She could not help but gasp. If she was reading the tags right she had just got her hands on something very important. The security markers were the highest she had ever seen.

Her computer beeped and new information flashed in her field of vision (projected their by the glasses): someone had just put a trace on her.

"Oh no," Emiko said, her hands moving in the air, interacting with virtual controls only she could see, trying to find out how much trouble she had. It was not a simple, automated response; some real person was after her. She hit them with one of the pulsers, high density, nonsense data, just to buy a moment of time. Counter trace software did not work too well on the dataweb; instead it was her system's hardware that did the job.

Or was supposed to.

The densely packed nonsense data would slow them and then a bit of energy to burn out a relay, that was usually enough to break a trace for a moment, making them lose sight of her; as it were. She followed it up with the trace redirect, to send the searcher off on wild goose chase. Combined with her anonymous box she felt pretty safe. She cut the connection and was completely gone from the dataweb.

Had they just picked her up by chance she wondered, or had someone been waiting for her? Not a pleasant thought. She had been traced before, but never that close. She wondered if she should have used the burner. It would have guaranteed a clean break, but it also would have made a huge mess of the Tokyo dataweb for several days. That would have really crossed the line over into cyber-terrorism.

No, she had gotten clear clean, Emiko told herself. No need to worry.

Convinced that everything was all right she turned her attention the datapack.

It took her a while to tease it apart, and even then she was not quite sure what she had. There were nine or ten files, compressed and encrypted.

Decompressing them was easy enough but after that nothing she had would cut the encryption. Very tight, she thought.

She pushed a chip into her computer and copied the datapack onto it. That done she took the chip and sneaked into her father's small office. The she settled herself behind his desk and turned on his computer.

It was a little sloppy of her father to leave all the information he did on his computer, but it was an understandable mistake. It would not have been a security hole to anyone else other than a snoopy daughter who had taken it into her mind to break laws.

And who could plan for that?

She pushed the chip with the datapack on it into the computer and began to work. He had keys there, not the exact keys she needed, but ones close enough for her to work with.

It took almost an hour to get the first file decrypted which was too much time to spend in her father's office. She did not even give the information a cursory read, but simply popped the chip out and turned the computer off. She would read through it later. She padded quietly out of the office, making sure there was no sign she had been there.

She had something to give Takashi tomorrow. Hopefully he could use it.

* * *

Ota Takashi was a journalist. He felt that it fit with his desire to uncover the truth. A desire he tended to follow mo matter who it might hurt.

He did not see what he was doing in any way treasonous. He did not want to oppose the USSA (United Solar States Alliance) but he often felt that the Gaians had a little too much power and were not being completely open with the citizens about what they were doing.

He respected the Gaians, considered himself to be a one, sort of, and his best friend was a Gaian Warden. He also thought that protecting all ecosystems from despoilment was a good idea. He just thought that the Gaians were too powerful with no real oversight.

He was doing something about it, following his conscience and trying to change things.

"Takashi-san, good morning," he heard someone call.

He turned to see Emiko running towards him. Makoto's little sister had become an odd ally, but she was good at what she did.

"Emi-chan, mornin'," he called out as he waved at her.

"Sorry I'm late," she said a little breathlessly, "I got something that might be interesting to you." She pushed a data chip into his hands. "Sorry I can't stay, got to get to school. Bye bye, take care," she said as she ran by him, heading towards the train station.

"Take care," he shouted after her and then looked over the disk. If she said it was interesting it was probably worth a look.

* * *

"Just what did they get?" Sam Colt asked his partner. Sam was new to the Tokyo scene, transferred in from New York, part of a growth program the Gaians were promoting.

"That is need to know," Ryu Abe told him.

Sam had tagged Ryu as a hard case the day he had met him. Still, he was good cop (probably more than just a cop if the rumours had any truth to them) and, for the most part, good to work with.

"So you don't know either."

Ryu nodded.

The two entered the busier than usual computer lab.

"Lots of new faces," Ryu told Sam.

Sam looked around. High up USSA types, lot of security.

"Glad you two got here," Reiko Oda said as she moved up close to Ryu. She was a young woman, short black hair, dressed conservatively in a suit with a knee length skirt.

"Got any good stuff?" Sam asked her, smiling at her

"Would a name be good?"

"Who?" Ryu asked, demanded actually.

Reiko looked as if she might refuse to say anything, but after a moment told them, "I pulled a partial registration number from the trace we got. I've been crunching at it for hours and finally cleaned it up enough to pull an ID. The computer is registered to a minor named Miya Emiko. I have an address as well as some basic information." She looked about, leaned closer to the two men and said. "I just found this out and you are the first two to learn about it."

Ryu frowned. "That was fast. Too damn easy really."

"Do you think so?" Reiko asked coyly. "Didn't it sound like I was working hard?"

"What are you hiding Oda-san," Sam asked her.

"We recently got some new equipment. All very hush hush, all very high end cutting edge. Beyond what the criminals will think us to have. The advantage is ours only while no one knows about it. That's why I am talking to you and not them." She looked towards the USSA officials. "They'll say something stupid, and probably to the press if I let them know. So you go and get your girl and tell everyone it was your brilliant police work, okay?"

"You got a deal. Where is she now?" Ryu asked.

"Yamadori High School. She is part of class 3C, in class by now."

"Let's go," Ryu told Sam.

"Yeah, yeah, you got it," Sam said as he followed. He had not known Ryu long, but he could tell that Ryu was focused on the case now, no time for niceties. Sam turned and winked at Reiko, mouthing, 'thank you' to her.

* * *

Sam looked up from the small computer on his lap. "Maybe we should handle this cooler," he said to Ryu. "This girl is no criminal. Don't know what she is; probably just doing it for bragging rights."  
Ryu shook his head. "Lots of interest from the higher ups on this. Still don't know what it is about, but it's got to be more than some kid slicing for kicks and boasting."

"But look at her history." Sam tapped the computer screen. "She's squeaky clean, good parents, very good parents, good marks, she doesn't fit any profile. She probably just got unlucky and grabbed something she was never meant to see. The question is about what she got, not if she is a criminal."

"We don't know what she got. All we know at the moment is that the brass up top are making a lot of noise and worried. That much noise and I think Midnight Sun or some other terrorist group."

"Oh come on." Sam shook his head. "This girl is not a terrorist."

"Maybe. Maybe not. We still have to bring her in."

"But why like this? Why not meet her at her home tonight? With her mother and any legal representation the mother wants present? Talk this out calmly. We do this heavy and we are only going to scare the poor girl to death. Probably mess up her life a little. You don't live down the police coming in and dragging you off in the middle of the school day."

"If we wait she might bolt." Ryu's voice was tight.

"If she was going to bolt she wouldn't have gone to school. Really, give it some thought."

Ryu frowned as if there was a bad taste in his mouth and he said, "We'll do it this way," in a manner that brooked no argument.

Sam shrugged his shoulders, knowing that he was not going to get Ryu to change his mind. Not now. "Let's go and scare some children then."

* * *

Emiko scribbled in her notebook, drawing pictures, every now and then making notes. The class was so boring. How was she to stay awake in such a place? If only something exciting would happen.

The door to the classroom slid back, banging loudly, several students let out startled gasps.

Two men came in with the vice-principal.

One of the men was Japanese, a big man, with thinning hair and angry brown eyes.

The other was Caucasian, with short brown hair and blue eyes.

They talked to the vice-principal and he pointed towards Emiko. Both the men began towards her as the vice-principal ran up to the front of the classroom to start a hushed conversation with the teacher.

"Miya Emiko?" The Japanese man asked her.

"Hai," she said, feeling apprehensive.

"You are under arrest," he told her, producing handcuffs from within his jacket. In a moment he had Emiko on her feet and her hands locked behind her. The other man had retrieved her briefcase and was looking through her desk.

Around them the class erupted into noise and Alice called out, "Just what do you think you are doing?"

The teacher was calling for quiet.

The big man did not respond to questions, just grabbed Emiko by the elbow and began directing her out of the room. Emiko looked around into the shocked faces of her friends, classmates and teacher. The only one who did anything was Alice, who started forward, as if to confront the men, but she was grabbed by the vice-principal before she could get close.

In a moment Emiko was out of the classroom and being led down the hall. News had spread because she saw a lot of faces looking out of other classrooms. It was so embarrassing.

She was hardly aware of much after that, feeling more than a little overwhelmed.

By the time she started taking her surroundings in again she was in the back seat of a car, a car which was spiralling up one of the highways towards the cavern's roof structures.

"Why am I being arrested?" she finally asked.

"You are suspected of breaking into a secure computer and stealing protected data," the foreign one told her, looking over his shoulder. "You can wait until we reach the station before saying anything, legal counsel will be arranged."

Well, at least she knew why. How did they catch her though? No, that was something to worry about later. Now she had to figure out how she was going to get out of it.

"Shit," the Japanese one said.

"What," the foreign one asked as he turned around to look out the front window. Emiko shifted in her seat, trying to see what was happening. It looked as if some cars had collided up ahead, closing off the road. Already cars were beginning to slow and the police car was soon unable to go back or forward.

"Go up there and see what is happening," the Japanese one told his partner.

"Right, right, I'm going," the foreign one said as he got out of the car.

The Japanese man sat in the driver's seat, quietly cursing, pounding his fist against the steering wheel. Emiko was trying to decide if there was something she could say that would make everything alright.

Then something hit them from behind and she was tossed forward against the back of the driver's seat.

Swearing loudly the man in front of her pulled off his seat belt and got out of the car. Emiko shifted back and looked over her shoulder. The police officer, yelling, was approaching the car that had hit them. A young man had gotten out that car. He looked very apologetic.

Then the officer fell down. Emiko stared, wondering what was going on. She heard the door open and looked over, expecting the other officer but instead a woman was there.

"Come on." She grabbed Emiko's shoulder and dragged her from the car. Another woman was retrieving Emiko's briefcase from the front seat.

Emiko was pulled up the line of cars, past the wrecks. She saw the other police officer sprawled face down on the hood of a car.

Just beyond the crashed cars was a van into which she was pushed. A moment later they were heading off.

"Don't worry sweetie," the woman who had pulled her from the car told her as she took the cuffs off Emiko's wrists. "We're rescuing you."

"Who are you?

"Friends of a friend you might say."

"Did you kill..."

"No, just stunned. You start killing police officers and people start taking a dislike to you."

"Do you know what is happening? They just came to my school, I don't know why." Which was a lie, she knew why, she just did not know how they had found out.

"Can't help you there sweetie, we're just a rescue team."

"Who sent you?"

"Later sweetie, later."

* * *

Emiko was only surprised for a moment to find Takashi waiting for her. Thinking about it, it only made sense that he would have played a part in her rescue: Only to protect himself if nothing else.

"Takashi-san, what's happening?" she asked. "Police, came to my school, they arrested me." She paused. "My mother is going to kill me."

"Lots is happening." He put a hand on Emiko's head and gently ruffled her hair. "You alright?"

"Yes, but..."

"Later," he told her, turning to the people who had brought Emiko. "Thank you very much for all your help." He bowed to them.

"Don't mention it Takashi, and watch your back these next few days," one of the women replied as she got back into the van. She leanded out the window and waved before the van drove away.

"Who was that? Who were they?" Emiko asked.

Takashi returned his attention to Emiko and said, "Yakuza." He took her by the arm and directing her towards his car.

"Yakuza?"

"Who else do you think would be willing to break you free of the police?" He pulled out his keys and opened the trunk of his car. "Get in."

"What?"

"They'll be looking for you soon, now get in."

Emiko felt as if she was near tears. So much was happening and no one was telling her anything. She angrily hurled her briefcase into the trunk then got in with it.

"Everything will be all right," he told her. "Just relax." He closed the trunk on her.

Lying, curled up in the darkness, the enormity of what had happened hit her all at once. Emiko began to cry.

* * *

By the time the car had stopped and the trunk was open she was cried out, for the moment at least, and all that was left was anger.

Takashi found himself faced with an angry young woman who had grabbed his coat lapels and pulled his face close to hers before he could do anything.

"What is happening?" she demanded, stressing each word.

"That data you grabbed was hot, very very hot. Just that first file was probably enough to get us arrested, or killed."

Emiko knew she should not be surprised, but hearing Takashi say it out loud like that did surprise her, and she loosened her hold on him.

He pulled himself free from her grasp and stepped back. "What is on the rest, well, who knows, but it has some people scared. I got a tip about your arrest and arranged for you to be busted free. You didn't tell them anything did you?"

"I never got the chance," she said as she got out of the trunk.

"Good. Odds are they are going to slap some serious charges on you soon, serious enough to make sure you are captured and arrested or killed very fast."

"What do you mean?"

"I heard some chatter on my tap line. People are talking ecoterrorist, Midnight Sun, that sort of stuff."

She stared at him wide eyed for several seconds. "That's a lie!"

"Of course it's a lie," he replied, "but everyone will believe it because it is such a big lie. The police will be saying it."

Emiko slumped against the car. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Run," he said simply. "Run far and fast," he expanded. "We'll get you out of Tokyo, then Japan."

"Leave Tokyo?" Her eyes were wide. "Leave Japan?"

"You don't have another choice. They are going to close the city down soon; you have to be gone by then. This will calm down, eventually, and then we can figure out what to do."

"But my family..."

"Who is your family going to believe? Hell Emiko-chan, like you said, your mother is probably going to kill you."

"She probably is," Emiko said sadly.

"Hey, cheer up. I was just joking."

"I wasn't."

"Listen, I got someone who will get you outside, then someone else who will get you out of Japan. Everything is going to be fine. Trust me"

"What am I supposed to do? Leave Japan, then what?"

"I really don't know. I'm sorry. I wish you had never got involved in this."

"I got myself involved in it." She had, and as bad as she felt she did not want to see herself as a victim.

"Yeah, still..." he shrugged his shoulders, obviously unable to think of anything. "Here, take this," he pulled the chip that she had given him earlier from his pocket. "I made copies but you might be able to do something with this."

"It is not supposed to be like this." She took the chip from him.

"I know. But it is."

Emiko nodded.

"Don't worry. You'll be all right."

"Liar."

"Yeah, you're right." He winked at her

"Oh, thank you for making me feel better."

"I try."

"Oi, Takashi-san, you around here?" someone called.

"Here," Takashi shouted.

A moment later a man in a baggy, grey jump suit came out of the darkness.

"Ken-san, been a while, hasn't it," Takashi called to the man.

"Yeah, it has." He came close. "Is this the package?" he asked, looking at Emiko.

"Miya Emiko-chan," Takashi said, "this is Ken, no need for last names.

"I am pleased to meet you," Emiko said, bowing as she fell back onto ingrained habbits.

"Thanks, you too," he told her.

"Get her out of here Ken."

"I will Takashi. You're going to owe me though."

"We can settle up later. I got to go, they'll probably be checking up with anyone she knows soon enough. I have to set up a cover or two."

Ken nodded.

"Emiko-chan," he put a hand on her shoulder, "take care of yourself." After a moment Takashi removed his hand from her shoulder, turned and walked away.

"Good bye Takashi-san," she said to his back. "Thank you."

"Come on," Ken said to her, walking away.

Emiko turned and walked after him, behind her she heard Ken slam his car door and a moment later the car was speeding away. She was alone with a strange man now, leaving her home, probably forever. She felt a little like crying, but only sniffed and wiped at her nose.

"Where are we going?" she asked Ken as they walked.

"Outside, into the Old Cities."

"What?" Emiko stopped.

"We have to." He turned around to face her. "It is the only place they won't look for you, at least not right away. You'll be all right."

"But the Old Cities..."

"It is either face them or the police. You face the police you probably die and take a lot of others with you."

"That's not fair."

"It wasn't supped to be." He turned around and continued walking.

Emiko wondered if she just stopped if he would come back for her. He might, but she was not sure. And if he did not come back she would be dealing with the police. No choice left, she followed after him.

A short time later they came to a large garage like area. Ken unlocked a door, stepped aside so that Emiko could proceed him. There were about ten mecha parked within, all of them Masons, the old, reliable work horse mecha of earth space. Emiko stopped and stared up at the suits. There was no one else there but for her and Ken.

"Come on." Ken said as he walked past her.

Emiko followed and he led her up to a mecha that was painted black and gray, covered in sensor equipment, armed with a pair of autocannons.

"What do you do?"

"I'm a biologist. I'm monitoring the levels of pollution and contamination in the Old Cities."

Emiko nodded. "And you need a vehicle like that."

"Sometimes you need a bit of firepower, or just the intimidation factor that comes from carrying it. Come on, let's get you settled. Ever been in one of these before?"

"No."

"Well, you're in for a treat then," he told her, his tone suggesting anything but, however he smiled as he started up the boarding stairs.

The cockpit was more than large enough to hold both of them but he put her into the storage compartment.

"I'm really beginning to hate trunks," she said to Ken as he made sure she was settled.

"I'd get used to them," he said.

"Thanks," she said with a tone rich in sarcasm.

Ken winked at her and then closed the hatch, sealing her into the compartment. A small light came on, giving her enough light to shift the few supplies around and create something of a comfortable seat.

A short time later she felt a vibration run through the suit as it started up. The mecha's stride was slightly jarring, and she felt each step, and a slight lurch, as if the suit was just short of falling over. Then the suit stopped, and she felt it settle. When it started moving again a few second later it was as smooth as any car. She guesses that Ken had switched to the wheels in the huge suit's feet.

Alone, in the near darkness, she pulled her computer out of her briefcase and put the chip Takashi had returned into the reader slot. It was about time she read what had got her into so much trouble. She put her AR glasses on and went to work.

The first file was an occupation plan for the Pleiades' colonies. Reproductive licensing, ban on homesteading, death penalty for ecocrimes, and other things that seemed extreme. And that was just the first file. What might be on the rest Emiko wondered? At the moment she did not want to know.

She put her computer into sleep mode and returned it to her briefcase. Information was still displayed on the lenses of her glasses, information about the GIS co-ordinates, exterior temperatures, an overlay of a map showing her where she was. She watched the data, hugging her knees to herself as she wondered just what she was going to do.

* * *

The smooth ride became a jolting walk as the roads gave out. Emiko guessed they were in the Old Cities, on the surface, the safety of the geofront left behind. She had to guess because there was no passive information for her glasses to pick up on. She could have sought out her information, but that would have meant connecting her computer to the data web, which would have made it possible for someone to find her.

She had seen pictures of the old city, seen it from a great distance, even flown over it once: a line of urban blight, stretching from the outskirts of Tokyo to the Osaka Zenith. She had never been inside of that zone before.

The almost gentle jolting of the mecha's stride began to lull her to sleep. She was tired, exhausted really, and sleep came easily; until the gun fire started.

She was shaken awake by the suit's sudden lurching movement and that was when she heard the sound of weapons.

She did not know what was happening. She was trapped in the mecha, a helpless passenger with no way to control her destiny. She was terrified.

Then a suddenly as it began it was over and the mecha's movement smoothed out somewhat as it ran..

Sometime later it stopped. She waited in breathless silence until the hatch was open, letting in light and the smell of the Old City. The light she was grateful for, the smell almost made her sick.

"Here, take this," Ken said, handing her a breather. "The air's pretty clean here, it won't kill you, but it is unpleasant." The breather was fairly simple, a soft filter mask and nose plugs.

"What happened," Emiko asked after she had the breather on.

"Jumped by some crazies, it happens."

"It happens?"

"Occupational hazard. After I gave them a few blasts from the cannons they fell back. Here." He put a bag in front of her and opened it. "You got some basic survival stuff here and some not so basic. This," he removed a wireless data cartridge, "has a map loaded into it. Follow it. You are being met by a man named Match, he'll get you out. There is also a bio-scanner and a chem-sniffer hooked into it. This area is clear, as far as I know, but it never hurts to play it safe. Keep an eye on the readings."

Emiko took the cartridge and turned on the transmitter. A few second later her glasses detected the wireless feed. She blinked twice and overlays appeared around her, showing her a path to follow. In the corner of her vision environmental information was displayed: chemicals in the air, biological agents, radiation levels.

"This is a gyrojet pistol, ever fired one before?"

"No, never." She shook her head.

"It's easy. This is the safety, the magazine ejects like this and a new one is simply fitted in like this," he told her as he demonstrated. "Minimum range is 3 meters, anyone in closer than that it probably going to be bruised, but you won't kill them. Going to remember all that?"

"No."

"Hopefully you won't have to use it," he said, putting the weapon back in the bag. "It's on safe right now, remember that. Your glasses should be able to interface with it. watch the information it provides and you'll be okay? Now, if things go really bad these tablets will kill you in a few seconds." He held up a small, grey case, it rattled when he shook it.

"What!? Kill me?"

"If you get caught now and they make you talk there are a lot of people that could be hurt. And there are some," he paused, "people out in the ruins who you do not want to be taken alive by. None of those are close, as far as I know, but you never know."

Emiko stared at him, not knowing what to say. He wanted her to kill herself if she were to get caught. She stood there for several seconds, once more trying to make sense of the turn her life had taken.

He pressed the case into her hands. "Take care of yourself," Ken said, climbing back towards the cockpit.

"Wait! You can't just go."

"I don't have any choice. You'll be fine," he told her, probably lying, and sealed himself in the mecha's cockpit. She had to step back as it straightened and stood.

Emiko closed her eyes against the cloud of dust that the running mecha had raised. When it settled she was alone.

She stood there for a time, not sure what to do, then opened the bag he had given her, took the pistol out and put it into the waistband of her skirt. She put her briefcase in the bag then slung it over her shoulder.

She turned about, looking at the red line that her glasses made appear on the ground. It blinked with arrows indicating the direction she should travel. She started walking.

As time passed she found it harder and harder to simply follow the red line. She had never been in an Old City before, never been away from the safety Tokyo or some Zenith offered. She began to jump at shadows, even once pulling the pistol out and blowing up some old, rusted trash bins.

She had been alone for almost an hour when she heard a high pitched whistle.

Spinning about she tried to discover where it was coming from. Then there were more of the piercing whistles and she realized whatever was making it was all around her. She began to run, hoping she would get to the place she was supposed to be soon.

Twenty meters ahead of her several figures moved out from between the buildings. One of them let out a loud, high pitched whistle. Close behind her a whistle answered. She had slowed when she saw the figures but was running again, right at them. She had to get by them, get to safety. She had to. Her heart was thumping so loud she was sure everyone could hear it and she was more terrified than she had ever been in her life.

She pulled the pistol from her waistband and fired. Information was flashing across her lenses but she ignored it. Two rockets sped out, each of their motors firing up after they had travelled a few meters. They whistled loudly as they flashes across the intervening space. One exploded in the road, some distance ahead of her targets, another went high and blast a chink of concrete free of a building. She covered several more meters, pulling the trigger, before realizing there were no more rounds in the magazine. In the corner of her eye she saw the ammunition counter flashing '0'.

She was almost on them and did not know what to do. Then her body just reacted as one of the figures reached out to grab her. She sidestepped him and then slammed the pistol up and into his jaw. It was a move similar to one she had practiced thousands of times in kendo, but had never done well.

Emiko had been taking kendo since she was ten, more because such a thing was expected of a student rather than a desire on her part. For all that time studying she was not very good at it. Everything moved too fast for her in class so she was amazed at how slow the dirty man in front of her acted.  
A woman kicked at her but Emiko twisted to the side, moving up along the outside of the woman's leg, and then slamming the pistol down on her knee with a cracking sound.

She was clear of them. They were all behind her, coming after her, but the way in front was clear. She ran, following the red line on the ground in front of her. She was breathing, panting loudly, she hurt, muscles aching and burning, in her mouth a sour taste, her guts churning with adrenaline.

For a time she thought she might make it. Then she heard the sound of gunfire and ricochets as bullets flew close by.

She was about the throw herself on the ground, hoping they might not kill her if she gave up, when a large figure stepped out in front of her.

Emiko tried to dodge around him but the person reacted faster than she. Her wrist was grabbed and she was pulled in close, his, she could tell he was male now, cape wrapped around her.

There was a hissing sound, then a number of minute roars followed soon after by explosions. She felt several things hit her back, like punches. Then it was over and everything was quiet.

"Miss Miya," the man holding her said in English. "I'm Match."

Emiko backed out of his grip, and he let her go. As the cape fell back into place she noticed several rents in the material. From the bullets?

He was a tall man, with long, fine blonde hair. What little skin she could see was almost as dark as hers and covered in tattoos. Slim build, but hard, she knew that from being pressed into his chest. He was almost handsome, in a rough sort of way.

His clothing was dark, loose pants a shirt and a jacket, covered by the cape which seemed to shift shades as she looked at it. He held a large gyrojet pistol in his hand.

"Are you all right kid?" he asked.

"The gun," she looked down at her pistol, "it wouldn't, it wouldn't, it was…" then she moved forward, burying her face in the man's chest, crying. She had been so scared.

She felt him take the weapon from her hands. "You fired all the rounds," he told her a moment later. "In the future know how many you have and count carefully."

Emiko stepped back to look up at him. She pulled the breather and her glasses off, ignoring the smell, and wiped at her eyes and nose. She could not believe he was lecturing her.

"Load this and then let's go," he handed her back the pistol then watched as she tried to put the fresh magazine in backwards. He placed his hands on her hands and reversed the magazine. Once it was properly loaded he set off, never looking back to see if Emiko followed.

She did though, not about to stay in the urban wastes on her own.

"Who were those people?" she asked after a time.

"Just a bunch of no ones trying to survive," he told her. "They would have robbed you, likely raped you, possibly killed you and just maybe have eaten you."

"You can't be serious." Emiko stopped and looked back he way they had come from.

"I am."

Emiko looked around her, wondering of there were more of those people out there, waiting to attack. If there were, they stayed hidden. She ran after Match, catching up to him.

An hour later, when Emiko was certain she was going to collapse, Match led her into a building. He moved some junk aside from the far wall, revealing a vault like door. It was protected by a standard key pad lock and a palm print scanner.

He opened it then let Emiko enter first.

It was a simple room, no furniture but a tall grey cylinder and a large shower stall recessed in the wall. To the right of the shower stall was another door.

"Put anything you want to keep in the decon box." He pointed at the grey cylinder. "Then get into the shower," he walked over to the cylinder and took of his cape, then tossed it into the cylinder. More of his possessions and clothing followed.

"Where can I..."

"Right here. Not much in the way of privacy." He smiled. "Sorry."

"I'll shower after you."

"You choice." He dropped his pants. "I wouldn't want to wait though. Who knows what was out there," he told her as he tossed his pants into the cylinder. That left him just standing in a pair of boxers, but not for long.

She looked at him, then turned away blushing. His words sank into her head and she slowly began to undo the buttons on her blouse.

He was already in the shower stall, standing under the spray of water and decontamination chemicals by the time Emiko slid into the stall with him.

There was enough room that they were not pressed together; in fact there was almost a meter of space between them. Emiko kept looking over her shoulder to see if he was looking at her. He never was and she realized that she was in fact staring at him. While grateful he was not leering at her she did feel a little insulted that he was not even trying to take a peak.

She looked at him again and suddenly realized all his tattoos were gone. His skin was also several shades lighter than it had been.

"Your skin, your tattoos?" she could not help asking.

He turned around to look at her, giving Emiko a better look at him than she had before, which caused her to blush and turn around to face the wall.

"A nano weave under the skin," he said. "I can fake the tattoos and skin colour that way."

"I see," she said, still staring at the wall.

Match left the shower before her, quickly drying off before dressing. By the time Emiko had turned off the shower he had already left the room through the other door.

She dried herself off then dressed quickly, gathering together her things from the decon box.  
Once she was ready she went to the other door and opened it.

It was a small garage, almost fully occupied by a fan car. Match was seated in the driver's seat, obviously waiting for her.

"Come on," he said.

She circled around the car, threw her things into the back seat, and then climbed into the passenger seat.

"This is a sealed vehicle, so no worries about contamination," he told her as he pulled his door shut.

"What about being shot at?"

"We're very fast and we've got a bit of armour. Don't worry, I've done this before."

Emiko nodded and watched as he powered up the car. In front of them a garage door opened. He shot out under it while it was still going up then turned sharply and headed down the old street.  
"What about the place back there?" she asked, a little curious.

"It's already locked up tight. In a few days some Ravagers will probably be in there to re-supply the place.

"You're a Ravager?"

"When I have to be. Seat belt on?"

Emiko put it on.

"This will get a little bumpy, but don't worry." He pushed the accelerator down. "We'll be in Osaka in an hour or two."

"And after that?"

"Probably get you on a plane to San Francisco as soon as we can. Once you're in San Fran, I don't know."

"Won't they be watching the Cosmodrome?"

"Yes and no. It will be a day or two before they decide that you got out of the city. Until then they won't be slowing things down too much at the Cosmodrome." He leaned back in his seat. "Trust me."  
Emiko did, but then she did not really have much of a choice.

* * *

Sam rubbed at his temples. Between the stunner that he had been hit with and the yelling he and Ryu were getting from the Captain, he was on his way to quite the headache.

"What did you expect us to do?" Sam asked, getting a little tired of it all. "We didn't expect anyone would launch a rescue."

"You should have," the Captain yelled.

"To hell with this," Ryu said as he got to his feet. He turned around and walked out on the Captain. Sam got to his feet. "I think he means to say that we will get her back," Sam said.

"You better Colt. I don't care who he is, I'll have his badge and yours if you screw up."

"We'll do what we can," Sam said as he left the room, running after Ryu.

"They haven't closed the Cosmodrome or the Seaport," Ryu said, sounding disgusted.

"They think she is still in the city."

"Do you?"

"Who can say?"

"If she's not been found in six hours it is pretty certain that she got out of the city. I don't want to give her those six hours."

"You can't close the ports." He paused. "Can you?"

"I'm deciding on that right now."

Once more Sam wondered who Ryu really was.

* * *

Emiko came out of the shower, a towel around her body and another around wrapped around her head and hair.

Match had checked them into a hotel almost as soon as they had reached Osaka. He had told her to stay there then had gone out.

He had come back in while she was in the shower and was sitting on one of the room's two beds.

"I bought you some new clothes," he pointed to the other bed.

Emiko turned to look at the pile of clothing on the bed. "Thanks," she said, looking through the items he had brought.

"Look at this," Match said.

Emiko turned around just in time to take a very hard punch from Match that knocked her back onto the pile of clothes. She was certain her nose was broken.

"What are you doing?" He pulled her from the bed. "You'll bleed all over those clothes."

"Why dib'u do thad?" she asked, putting her hand to her nose, and then hissing at the pain.

"A little impromptu cosmetic surgery," he told her. "Don't worry, you'll be fine."

"Id hurds," she said.

"Here, let me take a look at it." He knelt down and gently brushed his fingers along her face. When he suddenly pressed down on her broken nose she flailed at him before fainting.

* * *

As unhappy as Emiko was she had to grudgingly admit that her appearance had changed. With her nose looking like it did, the wig of long, light brown hair she wore and a few other minor changes, the girl in the mirror was a bit of a stranger.

Match had given her something for the pain and something to hide the bruising and had promised her a real cosmetic surgeon in San Francisco to put everything right.

She looked at the passport he had given her. Yuki Smith.

She hated her new look, her new name, and everything that had happened since the police had come to her classroom.

But there was nothing that she could do about it now but go on.

"Ready?" Match called.

"Yeah," she called, grabbing her bag.

* * *

Closing Credits

Music: Stay by Lisa Loeb

Emiko is walking along a city street, probably just after sunset. There are people all around her, but they are all sort of fuzzy. It is hard to tell where the city might be, it could in fact be anywhere. This runs through the entire closing credits, with other scenes breaking the flow.

The well dressed man from the opening credits is sitting on the banks of a river. A computer is on his lap; beside him is a fishing pole, lying there, forgotten, and the line trailing in the water.

The woman with the short brown hair and the penchant for guns, sitting on a parked motorcycle. She is wearing dark sunglasses and drinking a canned beverage. Behind her is a small town.

The beautiful mecha pilot, standing on a maintenance platform, working on her suit. She is just wearing a T-shirt and shorts, her hair in a ponytail. She looks quite happy.

The ship's pilot, driving along a lake shore road in a red convertible. He is having no problem driving the twist road at speed and looks quite relaxed.

Ends with Emiko turning to face the camera and smiling as everything fades to black. Closing Credits End

* * *

Other Musical Themes Emiko Miya - And She Was, Talking Heads

Ryu - Missionary Man, Eurythmics

Takako Miya (Emiko's Mother) - Happy Homemaker, Melanie Doane

Sound Track for Emiko's hacking - Choking on the Truth, Bif Naked


	2. Episode 2

**A Story of the Starblade Battalion**

_"It isn't a joke. It never has been."_

Episode 2 (2180.05.02)

by Shawn Hagen

Opening Credits - Talking Heads, Life During Wartime version

* * *

Jerking and catching, the old elevator took them down below the street level.

Emiko leaned against the back of the cab, staring up at the scratch, faded number markers. Her broken nose was beginning to hurt again, she was tired, scared and her period had started. Given a choice she'd rather be back at school with everything like it had been. And if she were wishing for the impossible...

She and Match had arrived in San Francisco almost two days ago. Since then they had been moving, never in one place for more than an hour. Match told her that he was checking things out, making arrangements; and that was all he told her. Other than giving her the drugs for the pain and the amphetamines that kept her going, she might not have been there as far as he was concerned.

Emiko wondered if he was mad at her.

"Where are we?" Emiko asked, tired of just being pulled around.

"Berkeley People's Zenith," he said to her. "This is where the cosmetic surgeon is," he added, surprising her with the extra information.

"Not much of a location," she said as the elevator jerked again.

"He's not much of a doctor; at least as far as the medical authorities are concerned."

"Pardon?"

"Don't worry. It was nothing important anyway."

"What was..." she asked as the doors opened and Match walked out. She quickly followed after him. The corridor she found herself in was dark and damp. She almost tripped on some pipes that ran along the floor. They were deep in the Zenith, the sort of place most people never came to.

Match stopped and began to bang on part of the wall. At least Emiko thought it was part of the wall. When it suddenly slid back, letting bright light into the corridor she realized once again that not all was what it seemed in the world she had been thrown into.

Match entered with her only a few steps behind. Once she was in she heard the door close.

The room was very bright, mostly light colours, and a lot of light. A short, handsome man sat behind a desk of glass and steel, staring down at the surface.

"Good afternoon Match," the man said without looking up. "Who's your friend?"

"Afternoon Doc. She's a terrorist if you believe the police."

"Who does? What do you need?"

"Give her a different look."

"Well," he said as he finally looked up from his desk, "something of interest."

Emiko stifled a small gasp. The man's eyes were flat black. She did not know why she was surprised, considering his occupation, but she was. Maybe because such modifications were rare in Japan; at least amongst the people she had known.

He stood up and moved around the desk, his flat, black eyes focused on Emiko. It was like a shark was staring at her.

"I have to get her off planet."

"I can do something," he said as he moved towards Emiko. She shivered slightly. "How different do you want her to look?"

"Completely," Match said. "Don't care what you do as long as no one can identify her."

"No." Emiko said. "I don't want to be changed that much. I don't want to be a stranger to my friends and family," Emiko said a moment later, her desire to avoid the change Match just suggested overwhelming the discomfort the doctor had engendered in her.

"Don't be ridiculous," Match told her. "We came here so no one could identify you. You can get it changed back later."

"Haven't I had to go through enough changes?" she countered. "And how likely is it my friends are going to be anywhere I am going anyway."

"Don't worry," the doctor said, interrupting before they could continue their argument. "I know just how to handle this so everyone will be happy."

"Don't screw around here," Match warned the man, looking at him hard.

"I am a professional," he smiled. "I don't screw around, and I am good at this kind of thing."

"Yeah, a professional without a license." Match shook his head. "Here." He removed a data brick from his jacket. "Once you are done get her picture and plug it into this. You got a fabricator that can create all the fake ID as I recall." He held the small brick out. "Your payment is in here as well."

"A sad society when a doctor has to also be a forger," he said, taking the brick. He stared at it for several seconds. Emiko supposed he was interfacing with it to examine the data. "She doesn't look like a Dorris," he said.

"Well make her look like one," Match said. "I'm taking the back exit out of here. I'll be back in about four hours. You can be done by then?"

"We'll be ready," the doctor told him.

"Better be. Stay here," he said to Emiko, then turned and left.

"My name is Andrew Smith," the doctor said after Match was gone.

"Emiko Miya," she said after a moment. "Are you really a doctor?"

"Yes, but I lost my license to practice a few years ago."

"Why?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"You'll be operating on me soon."

"Touché," he laughed. "I had a slight drug problem. I liked selling them too much, the money from selling them really."

"Oh."

"Don't worry. I am a very good cosmetic surgeon. Come along." He turned and walked towards one of the doors in the office. Emiko walked after him.

He led her into a white room. There was a chair in the middle of the room and little else.

"Take a seat," he said as he walked to the far wall. As he ran his hands over the white material drawers began to open out of the wall. Emiko sat down. The chair was well padded and felt more like a bed. She suddenly felt tired.

"Okay, while I do a little cutting, most of the work will be completed by nanotech robots," Andrew explained as he removed several syringes from one of the drawers.

"Will they stay in me?" Emiko asked, her voice quavering slightly. She had sat up, her body tense.

"What?" He turned to face her. "No. Most of them I'll flush out, any that remain will deactivate themselves and be naturally excreted from the body in a few days."

She nodded, relaxing back into the chair.

He walked over to the chair and tapped some of the controls on the arm. A number of holographic screens appeared in the air. "You have no nanoware," he said after a moment.

"No."

"You into some sort of crazy religion?"

"No, I just don't want it."

"Slightly odd. Close your eyes."

Emiko did so. After a moment she heard a low hum and felt bands of heat pass over her face.

"Open them," Andrew said.

Emiko opened her eyes then began to blink as bright lights flashed into them.

"Okay." Andrew did something and the light was gone. In the air above her a 3D holograph of her face formed. "That will do it. Fairly good bone structure by the way. This will be pretty easy."

"Now what?" Emiko shifted in the chair, looking up at her face. It was odd.

"Now I spend an hour programming the nanites to do their job. Are you tired?"

"A little."

"How about I put you out now. The next little while is boring and you don't need to be awake for it."

"What about the changes?"

"You don't have any real say in them."

Emiko frowned, suspected she was pouting, and said, "I guess."

"Relax kid. I'll be fixing that broken nose of yours too. It must hurt. What happened to it?"

"Match broke it."

"Ahh, one if his instant disguises."

"Yeah."

"Well, we'll have that all taken care of in a few hours. Here, put this under your tongue; begin to count backwards from one hundred." He handed her a small tablet.

"I've been taking amphetamines and pain killers," she said as she took the tablet.

"This won't react badly with anything already in your system."

"Oh." She took a deep breath and then put the tablet under her tongue. She mumbled as she counted down; one hundred to ninety three.

"If you could have any eye colour in the world what would it be?" he asked her.

"Ninety two... pardon? Oh." She yawned. "The colour they are now."

"Right." He nodded and smiled.

Emiko continued could backwards, her voice trailed off as she reached eighty three and she slumped into the chair.

"I can do wonders with you," was the last thing she heard as she felt him take her chin in his fingers and turned her head. Then she was out.

* * *

"How many fingers am I holding up?" a far away voice asked her.

"Wha.. What?"

"How many fingers?" the voice asked again. It was coming from a blurry shape in front of her.

"Ten." She guessed.

"Try again," the blur said. This time it was less a blur and more of a coherent shape, and she recognized the voice as belonging to Andrew.

"Four," she said. It looked like it was holding up about four fingers.

"Close enough. I'm going to stand you up now. Lean on me."

"Okay," she said. Her head felt as if it was stuffed with cotton, and her mouth felt dry.

With a quick pull Andrew had her out of the chair and on her feet. She fell forward but he caught her.

"You might feel a bit of tenderness around your face for the next few days, where the bones were reshaped, but don't let it worry you. It will go away on its own. Your vision might be blurry for a few hours as well."

Emiko said nothing, just let him direct her out of the room. Shapes were beginning to get a little clearer and she could pick out Andrew's features, his black eyes. He brought her into a new room with a low bed in it. After getting her close he eased her down so she was sitting on the bed then lifted her legs onto it.

"Lie down," he said as he lowered her back to the covers, "and get some rest. I have some forgeries to prepare."

Emiko fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

"What about her friends?" Sam asked.

Emiko Miya's mother, Takako Miya looked at him for several seconds, and then said, "All her friends were from school." She was, Sam thought, an attractive woman, young looking. Probably used nano treatments, but then again so did most of the people above thirty.

"We've talked to them Mrs. Miya," Ryu said bluntly. "Was there anyone else?"

Her husband, Shingo Miya, stood behind her, protectively. He was a slim looking man, short black hair, greying a little. He was not in his uniform, but Sam would have pegged him for a military man even had he not known him to be. He had that look.

"Ota-kun," Takako said after a moment.

"Who?" Sam asked, shifting his attention back to her.

"Takashi Ota," Shingo said. "He was more of a friend of Makoto's, our son. I think Emiko had a slight crush on him. He's a reporter, at the Tokyo Times."

"How could this have happened?" Takako asked suddenly. "She might be a silly, fluff headed girl, but you have to believe me, she is a good girl, really." She looked to Sam and Ryu. "I should have been a better mother." She began to cry and put her hands over her face.

Shingo kept a hand on her shoulder as he stepped around the chair, putting himself between them and her. "Is there anything else you need?"

It was a demand, Sam thought, not a question. They were being dismissed.

"No Miya-san, that is everything we need right now. Thank you," Sam told him. He was not about to confront this man.

"Don't hurt my daughter," Shingo said, and that was a command too.

"We'll try out best," Ryu said as he got to his feet.

"You'll do more than try."

"Dear," Takako said, sounding worried.

Shingo did not back down, he matched gazes with Ryu.

Ryu nodded after a moment. "We'll do our best."

Shingo nodded, short, curt.

"I'm sorry, and thank you for your help." Sam told them. He wanted out of there, worried Ryu might do something stupid.

A few minutes later the two officers were walking towards their car.

"They're not giving a picture of a terrorist," Sam told Ryu.

"Her mother thinks she has done something. Her father is not sure what to think."

"We don't really have that much." Sam stopped by the car. "Her life has been pretty controlled, with school, her schedule. More I learn about this girl the more I think she is just unlucky."

"There is about an average of three hours each week while she was not in class."

Sam shook his head. "She was skipping classes."

"Three hours a week could be used for training."

"She did not leave the school grounds."

"Someone on school grounds then," Ryu said.

"What, you think there is a terrorist training cell in that school?"

"I'm willing to entertain the idea."

"So complete background checks on the staff." Sam actually sighed.

Ryu nodded and opened the car's door.

Sam opened his door and then looked across the car at Ryu. "If you had heard everything about me that we have heard about that girl, would you think I was guilty?"

"Maybe," Ryu said after a moment.

"You know, she might actually be innocent." Sam got into the car. "At least of most of it."

"Why did she run?"

"She was scared."

"Scared people don't run and hide like she has. Professionals run and disappear like that."

"So she had help."

"Why would they help her unless she was one of them?"

It was a good point. He started the car and told it to take them to the Tokyo Times newspaper.

* * *

"Ota-san, there are two police officers in your office," one of the office ladies called to him as he walked into the press room.

"Do they have a warrant?" Takashi asked her.

"Not that they showed."

"Must be about all those parking tickets then," he said with a laugh, walking towards his office.

When he opened the door he found two men there, as the office lady had warned him. The Caucasian was seated, a cup of coffee in his hands. The Japanese man was looking through his filing cabinet.

"You won't find anything of interest in there," Takashi said as he came into the room, closing the door behind him. "I keep it there mostly for atmosphere. It's an antique, or so I was told."

The Japanese man had the decency to look a little embarrassed as he closed the cabinet drawer.

Smiling Takashi circled around his desk. "So what can I do for you officers?" he asked as he took a seat behind his desk.

"We'd like to ask you some questions about Miya Emiko-san," the Caucasian one told him.

"You know, it occurs to me you have not introduced yourselves." Takashi put a pen shaped object on the desk. "Mind if I record this."

"Yes," the Japanese one said.

"Unfortunate." He leaned back in his chair.

"I am Sam Colt, Detective in the Tokyo Police."

"Ryu Abe, Detective as well."

"So you want to know about Emiko-chan?"

"We have some questions about her."

"I bet you do. Go for it." He smiled.

"What do you think of her?"

"Cute kid. A little chunky. I don't believe anything that the news or police are saying about her."

"You spent a lot of time with her."

"Not lately. When Makoto-san, her brother, was around I saw her almost daily. She tagged along with us. These days, I would meet her in the morning every few days, say hello. She'd tell me what Makoto was up to, that was about it. Sometimes we went and saw a movie or had dinner."

"Why did you go to movies with her?" Ryu demanded.

"She was kind of cute, in a puppy kind of way," he told them. "And she had a crush on me. I kind of liked having her around at times."

"Did you have any romantic intentions?"

"Romantic? No. Sexual? Probably not. She was my best friend's little sister. Stroked my ego really."

"I see," Sam said. "Do you have any idea where she is now?"

"Checked some of her fiend's houses?"

"Yes."

"Then no. Emiko-chan never struck me at an independent person. She needed someone to look out for her, after her. Her family, her friends."

"Who would look after her now?" Sam shifted forward in his chair. Takashi realized he was trying to keep Ryu from asking any questions. That was interesting.

"Her friends, me, and maybe her brother."

"What about her parents?"

"As bad as this might seem to say, I think Takako-san would be happy to turn her in. She was always a little embarrassed about her. Shingo-san would feel bad, but he would hand her over as well because it would be his duty to do so. He'd then fight to prove she was innocent."

"I see." Sam looked thoughtful before he asked, "You wouldn't be helping her would you?"

"If I was it would not be in my best interests to tell you." Takashi laughed. "But no, I'm not helping her. However, if she came to me for help, I'd give her all that I could. And I would keep it secret."

"Even though the little bitch is a terrorist?" Ryu demanded.

Sam looked as if he wanted the sigh loudly.

"Can you show me some proof?"

Ryu shook his head. "We're done here. We'll have more questions for you later."

"I'll be here," Takashi said.

"Thank you for your time," Sam said as he got up from his seat.

"Always glad to help the police.

* * *

Outside of the office Ryu asked, "What do you think?"

"He'd protect her, but I don't think he is."

"That's what I was thinking as well."

"So you believe him?"

"Not really."

"Do you believe anyone?" Sam asked him.

"No."

"Little harsh in there."

Ryu looked at him. "I am getting tired of hearing people speak well of that girl. She's a criminal."

* * *

"Emiko, get up," Match said as he shook her awake and turned her over in the bed. A moment later she heard him demand, "What is this?"

"What you both wanted." Emiko heard Andrew say.

"What?" Emiko asked as she sat up. She felt much more alert than she had the first time she awoke. Match looked angry, and Andrew was smiling. Somehow that smile bothered her.

"This will attract attention," Match told the Doctor.

"Which is why it is so perfect," Andrew said smugly. "Who will suspect her?"

"What did he do?" Emiko got to her feet. She swayed for a moment, dizzy, but that passed almost immediately.

"Here." Andrew smiled and handed her a mirror. "It's low tech, but portable."

She took it and looked at herself. Her visions was still a little blurry, but she could make things out well enough. Her skin was a few shades lighter, her complexion improved. Her hair was much longer. Her nose was larger, better shaped and her chin stronger than it had been. Her eyes were a lighter shade of brown with green flecks. She was beautiful. She thought she looked like her mother when she had been young.

"This is not what I wanted," Match nearly shouted.

"This isn't me," Emiko said. "What did you do?"

"Listen," Andrew said, "all three of us wanted something. Match, you wanted her looking different so you could sneak her out of here. Emiko wanted not to change too much. I wanted to make art. We all got what we want."

"What?" Emiko demanded, dropping the mirror.

"Listen girl, all your friends and family will recognize you, especially as I didn't change the voice very much, and your mannerisms remain the same. That's what you wanted. On the other hand," he looked at Match, "anyone who only has a picture to go on will not connect this girl with the terrorist. People don't try to hide by making themselves stunning. And even if they do get suspicious and take a close look I've changed her finger prints, blood vessels in her eyes and tweaked her voice just a little bit. Add too that changes I made in her DNA to match what she is now, she is going to skate right under any suspicion."

"I didn't pay for this."

"It is all gratis. You gave me something interesting to work with." He looked towards Emiko. "You were pretty damn easy to work with really. And I only had a few hours to work with, so I kept what I had." He turned his attention back to Match. "You brought me an overgrown toddler; I gave you a young woman. Seems fair to me."

"Overgrown toddler?" Emiko asked.

"You were probably adorable before you hit puberty," Andrew told her, "but trust me, that does not age well." He looked back to Match. "If I had a week or two I would have done a regression job on her. She would have looked good young, and you would have had an easy time sneaking her out of here."

"Regression job?" Emiko asked, suddenly confused.

"They were big about ten years ago, I think they are going to come back into fashion."

"You just had to be a fucking artist." Match shook his head.

"I am an artist."

"This isn't me," Emiko said again, prodding at her face with her fingers. The skin was a bit tender, but not painful. "This isn't me."

"It is the you you were meant to be," Andrew said, sounding like a commercial.

"No it isn't," she said, and then stormed from the room.

She walked through the clinic, until she reached the room where she had first met Andrew. She began to pace the room, every few seconds she would stop and look into one of the mirrors, looking at the new face, the new body she had. It was her, she recognized herself, but at the same there was something of a stranger in the mirror.

"It's not so bad," Match said as he came into the room.

"It is not me."

"Would it have been so bad if he made you homely?"

"What?"

"Would you mind if you were ugly?"

"No. Yes." She shook her head. "I don't know."

"I think you took a certain amount of pride in not being quite perfect. I think you considered it something that made you unique. But if you were unique then it's not gone. Looks never matter. You are still the same person."

"I don't know," Emiko looked at herself again.

"Trust me. I've been changing the way I look for years. You learn the surface does not matter as much. We're on a tight time frame, come on,"

Emiko finally took her gaze away from the mirror and focused on Match. "Where are we going?"

"Hotel. We both could use a good night's sleep. Tomorrow we get out of here."

"Where are we going tomorrow," Emiko asked as she walked towards him.

"Orbital colonies, and then, for you, beyond," he told her. "Let's go get your ID from the doctor and then clear out of here."

* * *

Only the flickering light of the TV screen lit the room. Emiko had a pair of earphones on, an antiquated piece of tech provided only for children. On the TV she watched as Yuki was interviewed. She hugged her legs to her chest and listened as Yuki went to great length about all of Emiko's short comings. It was obvious that Yuki was not at all surprised that she was being accused of being a terrorist.

Before her they had interviewed Alice. Alice had only received about twenty seconds in which to say she was sure that all the charges against Emiko were lies. Yuki had been talking for almost four minutes about how she was sure that they were all true.

Neither were completely right of course, Emiko thought, but it certainly was not fair that Yuki was getting so much more time to talk.

"What did you do to that girl?" Match asked from his bed. "Run over her puppy or something?" He laid there, eyes closed, as if he was asleep, but Emiko supposed he had been watching and listening by means of his datalink.

"I didn't validate her sense of self worth by being the failure that she needed me to be." It was, Emiko thought, the worse thing she had ever said about Yuki. It was also true.

"Ah," Match said knowingly as he opened his eyes. He shifted off of his bed and then stood up. A moment later he sat beside Emiko, putting an arm over her shoulders. "You have had a hard few days."

"The worse." Emiko couldn't help but to laugh. She was suddenly conscious of the man beside her. Of his smell, of the feel of his warm body next to hers, of his strong but gentle fingers on her shoulder as he offered the comfort of camaraderie.

"It will be over soon. You'll be safe."

"But I won't be able to go home." Emiko wiped at her nose with the back of her hand.

"Not now. Maybe in the future."

"My parents think I am guilty. Many of my friends aren't sure, but with the news being as it is they'll be convinced soon enough. How can it ever be the same?"

"We all go through changes, we put the past behind. This one is just being forced on you and more drastic than most. Survive it kid."

Emiko leaned against him, letting him hold her up. She remembered how sacred she had been when she had first seen him. He had been cruel to her, hurt her, but he had protected her since she had first met him. He did not lie to her, did not tell her that things were fine. He told her how things were and how they were not as bad as they had been.

For a moment she thought to ask that he sleep with her, she thought maybe having sex would make her feel a little less alone, but she did not. Not sure if she was worried he would say yes or no. He offered one more gentle squeeze across her shoulder and then returned to his bed. Emiko stayed up until the news was over then turned off the TV and lay down.

* * *

Match pushed the accelerator to the floor to pass a large truck. He merged back into the fast lane and retained the speed he had built up when passing. He was worried about her, that there had been too many changes, too fast, that she would break. He was worried what he would have to do about it.

"Ever been into space before?" he asked her, getting tired of the silence.

"A few times," she replied, staring out the passenger window at the traffic. "Few vacations up to High Five, a trip to the Saturn cities, a tour of a ship with my father once." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Better than some. Bothered by zero G?"

"Other than the fact I'm totally useless in it, not really."

"We're going up to High Five. So many people up there it will be hard for anyone to pick us out of that mass. From there I'll get you on a ship that will take you to the Pleiades. I'll leave you once you are aboard that ship."

"You're not coming with me?" She turned towards him, a lost look in her eyes.

"No. I got business to take care of here."

"More business like me?"

"Perhaps. Lot of people might want to run soon."

"Do you know what is happening?"

"No more so than you. We have a war here that I can't figure. It's pointless. Unless you believe that the colonists are really going to destroy all those worlds."

"They'd have to work pretty hard at it."

Match nodded.

"Do you think I will ever be able to come home?"

"Truthfully?"

Emiko nodded.

"Poetically I've heard it said no one can come home again. You can try, but do you think you'll be the same person then?"

"I'm not the same person now," she said.

Match did not feel like getting into that conversation and said nothing.

A few minutes later they were pulling into the parking complex that served the Alameda Spaceport. Match parked the car then got out and walked back to the trunk. Emiko got out of the car and looked around.

"Here," Match said, putting her suitcase down on the ground. He placed her carry on bag on top of it. "Let's go," he told her as he slammed the trunk closed.

* * *

Emiko followed after Match as they walked through the space port. She would often find herself looking around, worried about getting caught and trying to search out danger. Match would tell her to relax whenever he noticed her doing so.

She was getting some looks, but none seemed suspicious. When she passed some reflective surface she would suddenly realize why people were looking at her. Would it have been better if she had been homely? Was she prejudiced against the good looking? She did not think so. Maybe Match had been right. Maybe she had just liked having it as a problem to deal with, something she could stoically accept. If that was true what did it say about her? Maybe that she was just like most everyone else, wanting to be just that extra little bit special.

She was sill thinking about that when they reached the baggage and ticket check. They got into the first class line, showed their tickets handed their baggage over, and then went onto the security check.

The man at the weapon and explosive detector seemed to give her a little more attention than anyone else, but he hardly looked at her passport or the monitors behind his station.

Once they were through Match led the way, seeming familiar with the layout.

"You got to give Andrew credit," he said softly as he stepped onto one of the moving sidewalks. "He was spot on about this."

"I suppose," Emiko said, leaning against the rail. "But he was weird. Did you hear what he said about regressing me?"

Match did not answer her question, but simply said, "We won't have any trouble on the flight, but once we reach High Five act cool, but don't let your guard slip."

"I thought you said it was so busy no one would notice us."

"They won't, which is why someone might be up there hoping we'll show. It is where I'd watch even though the number of people going through there makes watching difficult. They might get lucky though."

"Wonderful."

"Nothing is easy when you're on the run."

Emiko thought about that, and then nodded after a moment.

When they reached the boarding terminal Match used the first class tickets to pre-board and went straight to his seat. Once he had his carry on stowed he dropped into his seat and went to sleep.

Emiko wasn't that relaxed. She pulled her computer from her bag. She had replaced the identity chips so she logged onto the Dataweb without any worries. After looking through the shuttles data store she downloaded a fashion magazine. Short skirts were coming back in, she saw, looking over an article. That would mean everyone at school would be rolling up the waistbands of their skirts, using belts to hold them up high. She shook her head. At least there was one good thing about leaving.

* * *

Sam floated near the arrival gates, watching people. Ryu had sent him up to High Five on the off chance that they might get lucky. High Five was a bottle neck; anyone wanting off the planet would end up there. It made sense, but as a bottle neck there were vast numbers of people coming in and out. Unless they wanted to slow trade significantly they could only do so much.

Even if the girl did pass through the station he was not likely to see her. He would have to trust to the various monitoring devices within the station, but he did not have the manpower to watch that data in real time.

Sam was pretty certain that Ryu was growing desperate, not really that hopeful, but trying anything. Ryu himself was wandering the ruins of Rome, probably getting into fire fights with the gangs as he tried to find the girl there among the outsiders and scavengers. Sam did not think he would find her amongst those people, he did not really think that Emiko had any contacts amongst them.

That growing desperation had Sam, and a few other officers he had managed to get assigned to him, hoping to find a needle in a haystack.

He watched, but did not try to see, he let his attention become unfocused. He doubted that he was going to recognize her, she might be in disguise, or have already made a significant change in her appearance. In his brain were tiny bits of nanoware, fused to his neurones, boosting his abilities of perception and recall to peak human levels so he missed little.

In that 'no mind' state he spotted someone.

He had seen many people, had discounted most, and this one was gone almost before she registered. There had been something familiar in that flash of profile; in the way she had moved.

It might be nothing.

He could wait, perhaps someone even more likely would come along, but she had seemed the most likely. And if he was wrong, well, the surveillance had to end sometime.

He got onto the private datalink channel, contacted his team, sent them off on their vectors while he moved off in the direction he had seen her going.

* * *

Emiko almost screamed when Match yanked her back into a corridor they had just exited. She forgot to grab onto one of the wall mounted handholds and nearly ended up floating off in the microgravity.

"What?" she asked after a moment of scrabbling to grab the handhold, keeping her voice down.

"Encrypted chatter stared going off. I think I saw a man I know, part of USSA criminal investigations. Last I heard he had been transferred to Tokyo," he told her as he looked around.

"Is he here for me? Have they found me?" Emiko felt her heart beat faster in her chest.

"I don't know, and not yet." Match was looking around, a far off sense to his gaze. She guessed he was in a Dataweb conversation with whomever they were to meet. After almost a minute he looked down at her. "Come on," he said, heading back the way they had come, towards the toroid they had just left.

The toroids of High Five rotated around the central cylinder, providing the gravity that the population required. There were 6 of the rings around the cylinder. They were heading back into the fourth from the North end of the cylinder. Soon gravity returned and they had to take an elevator down to the street level of the toroid. He led her away from the public areas as a quick pace.

"Okay," Match finally said, "change of plans."

Emiko nodded.

"We're going to get you out of here in what might be best called an unorthodox method."

"How?"

"Spacewalk. Come on." He increased his pace.

"What do you mean?" She had to run to keep up.

"A ship will be waiting near one of the airlocks. You go out, they grab you. Easy."

"Easy?"

"Trust me. And it's not like you have any choice."

"I could turn myself in."

"Not really much of an option," he told her as he ducked down an alley and stopped in front of a maintenance door.

"Maybe better than just jumping out into space," she said as she stopped nearby and looked around.

"Relax," he told her as he picked the lock on the door then opened it. A set of stairs led down into the lower levels of the toroid.

"I don't want to relax."

"You better," he said, ushering her through the door before following her and closing it.

"Isn't there some other way we can do this?"

"No. Here, you might need this." He handed her a pistol, a slug thrower.

Emiko looked at the weapon for a moment, then reached out and took it from him. She did not bother to ask where he had got it or how he might have gotten a weapon past security.

"The safety is on, no round in the breach. It's not wireless so don't waste any time trying to sync your glasses up to it."

"I understand," she said, putting the weapon in the waistband of her pants, pulling her jacket over it.

"Let's go." He slid around her then headed down the stairs.

* * *

Sam looked around, trying to second guess his quarry. Where would he go in a similar situation? Around to one of the other spokes, back up to the central cylinder perhaps? It seemed likely. But to what end, and then where? He turned around and headed back the way he had come. If she stayed down in the toroids there was no easy way off the colony, at least any way in which she could go far.

* * *

Match stopped at airlock, overrode the security, and cycled open the inner door. He moved in and opened the storage cupboards. He looked through the contents for several seconds. "Damn," he said as he closed the cupboards and left the airlock. The door cycled closed behind him.

"What is it?" Emiko asked.

"Nothing, come on."

Emiko followed after him, always following she thought. She watched as he opened two other airlocks and after looking through the storage cupboards in those had left them as he had the first. Emiko thought he was beginning to look desperate and it was made worse by the fact he would not tell her what he was looking for.

"You two," someone called from behind them. "This area is off limits to all civilian personnel."

Match pushed Emiko off into a cross corridor, then dove the other way, pulling a pistol from within his coat. The man behind him, a member of the colony's security simply stared without doing anything. Match shot him twice.

Emiko was just pushing herself off the floor when the shots rang out. She jumped up and ran back out to the corridor. There was a man lying on the floor.

"You killed him," she said, looking back at the body.

"Probably," Match said, grabbing her by the elbow and propelling her down the corridor.

"But..."

"There are no buts," he told her.

A few seconds later an alarm began to sound.

"Well, that's it," he said, running, dragging her along behind.

"What do we do now?"

"The same things we were going to do before, just the hard way."

"I thought that we already were going to do it the hard way!" Emiko wailed.

* * *

When the alarm sounded Sam immediately checked in with station security. They told him there had been a report of gun fire in the maintenance corridors of the fourth toroid. It was close to the area that he had lost track of the girl. They had to be related.

He called his team together sending them to where the report had come from.

* * *

"The ship that will pick you up will be passing within one hundred meters of this airlock," Match told her as he worked on the airlock's control panel. "They won't be able to stay that close for long; station control will be having a fit over it. You won't get a second chance."

"What do I do?" Emiko was trying to control her breathing. Her knees were shaking.

He held out a small, black cylinder towards her. It was about the size of her hand, smooth, covered in small bumps. She took it.

"When the red light on that com lights up, hit the cycle button." He indicated a control on the airlock. "I've overridden the safeties and it will initiate an emergency decompression. That will blow the outer lock open. No one will be able to stop you from going."

"Okay," she nodded, wondering how he could sound so calm about it when she was so frightened that she was afraid she was going to wet her pants right there.

"Hold onto the handle here," he patted the hand hold near the door, "and hold on tight."

"Hold on tight," she said, parroting him.

"Wait for the signal from the ship. Once they are in position they will flash a set of red lights, real bright ones. It will be obvious. At that point bend your legs, point yourself at the lights, and push off like your life depended on it."

"Does it?"

"Yes."

Emiko almost dropped the com. She took a deep breath and asked, "Okay, where is my vacc-suit?" She was proud she had managed to ask it without her voice quavering.

"That's the problem."

"What's the problem?"

Match opened the door of the storage cupboard and pulled out a small, blocky package the size of his head. "This is a rescue ball. You crawl in and basically wait from someone to come and pick you up. You just float in it, you can't really move anywhere."

"So I float in it and wait for them to come and get me?" She did not understand.

"No."

"No?"

"That will take too much time. The ship would have to send someone here to grab you. Once you blow that lock you'll maybe ten seconds of clear time before station personnel can react effectively."

"Like what?"

"Like hit you or that ship with the station's point defence guns."

"They would do that?"

"They might."

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"You can survive hard vacuum for ten or fifteen seconds, maybe more. You'll probably lose your sight, but they've got a good sick bay over there and will be able to put you right. Their doctor has plenty of experience dealing with decompression sickness."

Emiko stared at him for several seconds, and then, suddenly calm, she said, "I think I'll turn myself in."

"That is not an option."

"Why?"

"Because I'm to kill you before I let you get captured. You know too much."

She stared at him, opened mouth, and then said "Are you joking?"

"It isn't a joke. It never has been. I don't know what you thought you were getting into when you agreed to spy on the USSA but it was not a game. You either have to be beyond their reach, or you have to dead."

"But, but," Emiko thought of what to say, of all the work he had done to protect her, of all the help she had provided to Takashi, but all she could think to ask was, "Wouldn't it have been easier just to kill me right off?"

"I'm not a monster. I don't want to kill you. You don't want to die. This will not be easy. I've done it once and it almost did me in. I figure you got a seventy percent chance."

She stared at him for a moment and tried to remember the man she had wanted to sleep with. It seemed ridiculous now. "I hate this."

"I'm not surprised."

"I hate you."

"You have that gun."

She looked at the com she still held. She could feel the gun in the waistband of her pants. She had a choice. "When it flashes red?" Emiko asked.

"When it flashes red. Good luck Emiko-san."

"I'll need it."

He nodded. "If you are ever back in Earth space, try to let me know." He put a hand on her shoulder, smiled at her and then released her and stepped back out of the airlock. A moment later he sealed the door. Emiko suspected that she would have a hard time opening that door if she suddenly decided not to take this suicidal chance.

Standing by the control panel, one hand on the hand hold, one holding the com, she waited and tried to remember what little she had read about the drill for emergency decompression. It did not seem like enough.

She almost dropped the com when a light on it flashed red. As she expelled the air from her lungs she put the com unit into her carryon bag. Reaching out she tapped the cycle button. She heard the soft booming as the outer hatch was blown clear, but then she heard no more but the air whipping by her, like a typhoon, almost pulling her out with it, and then all she could hear was the sound of her pumping heart.

Small globes of red were floating in front of her. Her blood, she realized. Already her vision was tinged with crimson. Out in front of her, looking so far away, was a boxy ship, dark in colour. She could only see it because of the bright running lights on it. Then a group of lights flashed a bright, intense red.

Bending her legs, she centred herself on the pattern of lights. She was beginning to feel light headed, her lungs starting to burn. It was all happening so fast. She could see more blood floating around her.

She pushed off the edge of the lock, launching herself into open space.

* * *

Sam had just made it under the streets when he got a message about one of the airlocks being blown open. A moment later someone had given him a direct feed from one of the station's outer cameras. In the crystal clarity of vacuum he saw a single person, no vacc-suit, female, floating through space.

There was a ship out there as well.

Impossible, he thought as he realized what it was seeing. No one would take that chance, and yet someone was. Later he would think he should have ordered the station to open fire with the point defence guns, but it happened all so fast.

Then there was another figure, that one in a vacc suit, tethered to the ship. That person grabbed the girl. As soon as contact was made the ship was accelerating. The force as the tether snapped taught must have been punishing, nearly deadly, but the ship was soon far from the colony, out of range of the station's guns even if someone had thought to start firing.

No one would do that, Sam thought. It was too crazy. Only a professional could have pulled that off, been willing to take the chance. He did not accept that fact that anyone else, no matter how desperate, would try it.

Maybe Ryu was right about the girl.

* * *

"How long was she out there," the doctor, John Manabe, yelled as they moved the gurney along the corridors. The ship was no longer accelerating so its crew was working in microgravity.

"About 14 seconds," he was told by the man who had pulled her in, an old spacer called Edge.

"Long time, "John said. He held onto the gurney, letting himself be pulled along, and put a pneumatic syringe against her neck to inject her with a synthetic oxygen carrier.

Once they had her in the sick bay, they got her strapped onto the table-a precaution against acceleration-and went to work.

"Okay let's get an IV going into her, a mix of plasma and O2 carriers. Large bore needles, two bags, full open," he ordered. As the others went to work he opened one of the wall mounted instrument drawers and pulled out the decompression kit. Breaking the seals he opened it up and from the foam padding within removed pneumatic syringe, clipped with a large reservoir that held a mixture of specialized medical nanites.

"I lost the pulse," Karen West said.

"Shock her."

"Right away," Karen said. The medic tore the defibrillator from its velcro mounts. It popped open, ready for use. "Charging," she said as she took it off safe. Edge stopped preparing the IV and took a moment to cut the girl's clothing open, barring her chest. He reached over and grabbed a tube of conducting paste from the kit and squeezed some out for Karen. She rubbed the paste across the conductive plates, then smeared some more across the girl's bare chest. "Clear," she called after a few seconds.

Everyone stood back as she placed the unit on Emiko's chest, moved it until the lights went green, and then triggered it. Emiko's body jerked against the restraints as the electricity ran through her.

Karen looked down at the readouts on the unit. "Got a beat, strong and steady."

"Okay, get her hooked up," John said as he put the syringe against her neck and triggered it, holding it there for the three seconds it took for the reservoir to empty.

"Got an IV in." Edge said.

"Good." John popped the empty reservoir from the syringe and reached towards the decompression kit for a fresh one.

"Doc, we got to light up the engines." The captain's voice came over the intercom.

"Understood," he said, not that he could say anything else. He clipped the full reservoir into place, grabbed a handhold, and gave the girl another three second shot in her thigh, right through the material of her pants.

A moment later the ship was accelerating forward at nearly two gravities. Not the best way to work, John thought as he grabbed an IV bag and began to squeeze.

* * *

Shingo stood by the large window of the apartment, staring out at the city. Surrounded by other buildings he had to look upwards to get a sense of the vast metropolis that spread out around him. He turned after a few seconds and looked towards his wife. She sat on the couch, quiet.

She looked lost.

"I'm going to put in for leave of absence," he told her. "I'll stay here."

Takako looked towards him, she frowned. "There's a war on, you are needed. Why would you... Something happened to Emiko, didn't it?"

She knew him so well, Shingo thought as he walked over and sat down beside her. "I don't know, but a friend sent me this." He opened a shared file, let Takako view it over her datalink.

"Is she in space?" Takako asked a moment later.

"Yes." He paused. "She looks like you did, at that age. I always said she would grow up to be beautiful."

"If she was going to change the way she looked why not so do completely," Takako said, sounding exasperated. "The child can't do anything right."

Shingo almost laughed. Takako criticizing Emiko, it was almost as if it was just an ordinary day.

"Is she," Takako paused, "dead?"

"I don't know. She was out in space for a little over fourteen seconds, according to the surveillance. That is survivable, as long as you get immediate medical attention."

"And if you don't?"

Shingo said nothing for several seconds.

"I just looked it up," Takako said. "No wonder you are not saying anything."

"There was a ship ready. They probably had a medical team on board. There would have been easier ways to kill her then stage a farce like that. Someone wants to keep her alive."

Takako nodded. "Poor Emiko. How desperate have you become?"

"Very," Shingo told her, "but the authorities think it was anything but desperation."

"What?"

"They are taking her behaviour as that of a professional. A well trained operative who is a threat to the USSA."

Takako cocked her head to the side, as if changing the orientation of her view might help her understand. "They think Emiko is a trained operative?"

"They seem to think she is one of the best they have dealt with in a long time."

"My Emiko?"

Shingo nodded.

"That's the most stupid thing I have ever heard," Takao snapped. "Emiko was still wetting her bed only two years ago."

Again Shingo felt like laughing. "I remember. She was so mad at you back then."

"She should have been mad at herself." Takako shook her head. "Emiko is helpless. Why can't they see that?"

"Because everything that she has done makes it seem anything but." He put his arms around her and hugged her tight. "She is your daughter my love."

"Don't be foolish," Takako said. "If anything she takes after my grandmother. That woman was a scoundrel who never did an honest day of work." She sniffed and pulled herself tight against him.

"They are going to be investigating her now, a deep investigation. They are going to come to you."

Takako nodded and then said, "That's why you want to stay, to protect me."

"Yes."

"Don't worry about me. You know I have friends. I can go to Sydney if I need to."

Shingo nodded. "I still want to stay with you."

"There's a war on. You have your duty." She kissed him. "I have mine."

* * *

Emiko blinked her eyes against the sudden, bright light.

"Where..." she said but stopped; her throat felt like sandpaper.

"Aboard the Charybdis Cruiser 'Mandarin'. I'm your doctor, John Manabe. It was pretty close there, but you'll pull through. You are going to be hurting for a few days, and it will be a week or two before your eyesight is back to where it was. The nanobodies we'll be working for a while on everything."

"Nanobodies," she managed to get out. The man talking to her was mostly a blur.

"Standard treatment. Not permanent I'm afraid. They'll be flushed from your body within the month. Of course until then you won't have to worry about getting a cold and cuts will heal fast." he laughed.

"Great," Emiko said, closing her eyes. The sarcasm in her tone was lost in the rough croaking sound of her voice.

"Get some rest. We'll be making the shunt in a short time. Then you'll be out of USSA space and safe in the Pleiades.

Emiko said nothing. She wanted to sleep but hurt just a little too much. Lying there, not moving, not talking, seemed like a good alternative.

* * *

"How's your patient?" Captain Jess asked.

"As well as you could expect," John told her.

"That bad," she smiled.

"She'll be all right with a little time. What happens to her once we get to the Pleiades?"

"We take her to Solingen and drop her off there. Someone else will be taking care of her at that point. What is her medical condition?"

"Like I said, she'll be alright in a little while. The nanobodies will be doing the most of the work. I'll give her some basic meds for pain, supplements for the nanobodies, pretty much maintenance drugs."

"Good enough," Jess said.

"Captain, we have cleared the gravity well," her navigator called.

"Got the course plotted?"

"Ready to go."

"Okay, light it up."

The navigator reached out and tapped in the start up code into her boards. An immensely powerful electromagnetic pulse was created, igniting the sidereal collectors. As they began to collect virtual particles the GRASER (Gravity Amplified by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) was ignited by the powerful fusion generators. The GRASER generated a spherical soliton field of coherent gravity around the ship.

Decaying, high energy anomalons, produced by the anomalon generator, supercharged the gavitic soliton field. The field accelerated to near infinite speeds and for a moment the field and its ship passed through every point in space. At once it was everywhere and nowhere.

10 to the negative 42 seconds later, the ship appeared just outside of the gravity well of the Primus system.

"And we are here," the navigator called.

"Get your frequent flier miles now ladies and gentlemen." Jess laughed. "Take us in nice and slow towards Solingen. No need to alarm anyone. We will rendezvous with the other ship in about twenty hours behind Falchion. Will your patient be ready to go by then?" She looked at John.

"She should be able to walk."

"Good enough."

* * *

Emiko moved carefully, getting dressed. She was a mass of hurts. The clothing she had come in was ruined, and the luggage she had brought from Earth was long lost. She only had kept her school bag, with her school uniform stuffed in the bottom, under various text books, and her computer. Some of the Mandarin's crew had donated some clothing to her, some clean underwear that fit poorly, a baggy ship suit-bright orange coveralls with lots of pockets- as well as a pair of boots that almost fit

She put the bag up on her shoulder and pulled herself slowly along the railing. Moving in zero-G was tough and she did not feel like slamming up against a wall in her present condition.

Outside of the door Doctor Manabe was waiting for her. Her vision was still blurred, but she could recognize people now, mostly.

"Ready to go?"

"I guess," she said. She was not happy about being handed off to yet another new keeper, as it were. Still, she had no choice.

She did not talk to the doctor as he led her through the ship's corridors to the airlock. There another man was waiting for her. He didn't give a name, just led her through the transfer lock into the other ship.

"Take care," John called. Emiko looked back and waved, then turned and continued into the other ship. The airlock was closed and in a few minutes the two ships were separate and moving off in different directions.

Emiko sat in a chair in the small cabin she had been showed to. She had closed her eyes, thinking about how far she was from home. She felt tears well up as she realized she might never see her family or friends again. What had she been thinking when she decided to help Takashi-san? She had never thought that she would end up in another solar system, wanted on Earth as a terrorist. It all seemed so unfair.

* * *

Ending Credits - Lisa Loeb, Stay version

* * *

Other Musical Themes

From Keko, for this chapter/episode Hearth of Steel by Manowar

Emiko blowing herself out into space, The Beatles, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds

* * *

**Replies to Reviews**

drakensis

Glad you enjoyed the original story and I appreciate your feedback on this.

There will be some changes to the story, nothing major, it will unfold much as it had originally. There are some areas that I can clean up, and there are some minor characters who might be removed, or given more of a role so they don't see so 'throw away'. If there are any suggestions you would like to offer I would be happy to read them.


	3. Episode 3

**A Story of the Starblade Battalion**

_"Mostly I want to be able to go home."_

Episode 3 (2180.05.08)

by Shawn Hagen

Starblade Battalion is the Property of Games.

Opening Credits Talking Heads Version

* * *

Bright light woke Emiko. She sat up, ignoring the slight pains the action generated, and looked around her. The room she was in was almost half the size of her parents' entire apartment back in Tokyo. That had been a unit meant for four people. She was the only occupant of this room. She still felt a little surprised each day, by that fact and so many others.

The light that had woken her was coming through the large picture window. The sun was only just cresting the horizon, but it shone almost directly into the room. She had come to like waking up with the warm sun in her face, enough to forget that the star out there was not her sun.

Pushing the covers off her, she swung her legs out of the bed and then stood, the night shirt she was wearing falling down to the middle of her thighs. For a moment she was seized by a sense of vertigo and her head swam. The damage to her inner ear had not completely healed and sudden movements could make her dizzy.

She crossed the room and looked out the window. A few small robots moved through the large garden behind the house, and it was large, nearly two square kilometres. She opened the window, feeling a little daring when she did so, though the atmosphere of Solingen was not Earth's atmosphere, being that it was incredibly clean. Mankind had only been on the planet for thirty eight years after all, and had been using clean technologies that entire time.

She took in a deep breath, inhaling air that was perfumed by the garden and the field of roses planted just below the window. Vegetables and flowers, and the rich scent of soil. She was coming to love that mélange of scents.

Marion Verees owned the farm. Over five thousand square kilometres of land. Such land ownership was illegal on Earth. It was supposedly illegal on the Solingen, or had been until they had declared themselves a Confederation, exempt from the laws of the Gaian controlled Earth.

In the few days she had been a guest of Marion and her family she thought she had come to know the woman. Emiko liked her. She was smart and strong, but very kind. It was a kindness that Emiko had known her own mother had possessed, but could never fully show due to her feelings of embarrassment.

She had also found out that Marion, as well as many of the other people she had met since coming to the Pleiades, were not happy about the way the Gaians tried to enforce their edicts on the colonies. That had not surprised Emiko. What had surprised her was that the people were not very impressed with Solingen and its behaviour either.

Emiko was not sure why she had been surprised. After all, she had not been completely happy about how the Gaians were running things on Earth. It was a sign, she supposed, that she had fallen victim to the propaganda, no matter what she might have thought. Now her ideas were beginning to change.

Walking away from the window she opened the wardrobe and began removing clothing. Most of it belonged to Marion's eldest daughter, Leisha. Marion told her that Leisha had left a year before to join the ODF. The woman did not seem entirely happy about that, but Emiko did know if it was because she disapproved of the ODF or just missed her daughter.

Marion had several other children beside Leisha. Those seven children were one of the reasons that had put Emiko there. Who was going to notice another person in the Verees house?

She left the clothing on her bed then went into the washroom to take a shower.

She had been in the shower for several minutes when she heard a knocking at her door. Emiko shut the water off, grabbed a towel which she wrapped around herself, then left the bathroom, walking toward the door of her room.

Marion was standing on the other side, her red hair pulled back into a bun, her clothing rumpled, stained with dirt in places. It was likely that she had been up and working for several hours already.

"Morning," Marion said as she smiled at Emiko.

"Good morning." Emiko bowed.

Marion smiled. "Get dressed. We'll go out for a ride. I'll be down by the stables. Oh, bring a hat," she said, then walked away.

Emiko closed the door then returned to the bathroom to finish drying off. She wondered what Marion meant by a ride. She could not mean horses? Then again, she did say the stables. Emiko had never ridden anything before and was not quite sure about it. Still, Marion was not the kind of person that one said no to.

A few minutes later-after a stop in the kitchen for a quick breakfast-she was crossing the thick lawn, stepping onto the stone tile path, walking towards the stables. The grounds around the house were very neat, and well maintained. Robots and one agricultural mecha suit did most of the work on the farm, but Emiko had seen Marion out, taking care of the lawn herself.

"Emi!" Kathy Verees called out.

Emiko turned and called out, "Kathy-san, good morning." Kathy was a small girl with dark skin and long blonde hair; nothing remarkable about her other than she was gregarious to an extreme.

"Listen," Kathy said as she ran up to Emiko, "I'm busy right now, but tonight there's a party over at the Gilson's place. You'll have to come. Don't make any other plans. I'll talk to you later." And then she was running off.

"Later," Emiko called out, waving, watching her go. Emiko liked her, but it was hard to have a conversation with her: She talked so fast and was always moving.

A party, Emiko thought, continuing towards the stable. It sounded fun, but she was not sure she really wanted to go to an event like that. Daichi and Sam, Marion's two eldest sons, had been going out of their way to try to get her attention. They had even got into a fight over her; a minor fight, but a fight non-the-less. Emiko really did not like the reminders that people suddenly found her desirable. It felt like a sham to her.

Her mind on other things she almost walked into Marion.

"Have you ever ridden before?" Marion asked, snapping Emiko out of her thoughts.

"No," Emiko told her.

"Well, Gray here is pretty harmless." She put her hand on the neck of a grey horse. "I taught some of the kids to ride on her."

Emiko nodded, feeling a little better. A harmless horse was just what she wanted.

Marion gave her a quick lesson on horseback riding, some tips about what to do, which mostly boiled down to let the horse do what it wanted as it had the most experience. Then, short lesson over, they mounted up. The horses set off at an easy walk, Marion in the lead. After about twenty minutes Emiko had the horse figured out, for the most part. If she kept her attention on maintaining her balance, and let the horse do as it wanted, which was to follow Marion's horse, everything would be fine.

Once that was done, she turned her attention to the land around her. It was really beautiful; a sharp contrast to the Earth. The air was clean and the planet's ozone layer was intact, making the light from the system's star safe-she could not think of it as 'the Sun' as the Sun was too much a part of Earth to her.

She looked out over all the fields; each one was bordered by a line of trees. There were a lot of trees on the farm; some in odd places. They were around the fields, in the fields, sometimes in large copses. When she had asked about them Caroline, another of Marion's daughters, biological, had told her it was to help prevent soil erosion. The farms were so big, and the farming technology so advanced, they could afford to give up land to trees.

It was another sign that the colonists were not the destroyers of ecosystems that the Gaians claimed. At least not all of them. She wondered what the war was really about. She thought that most of the people on Earth did not want it, except perhaps for her mother. The people she had met so far in the Pleiades did not want it.

Yet they had a war and she was not sure why. She was not surprised that there was more to it all than that which showed on the surface. The time she had spent getting information for Takashi had shown her that. It seemed there were always webs of intrigue below more webs of intrigue. She had been pretty good at untangling them, but this one was hard.

"Do you know what I think is kind of sad?" Marion asked.

Emiko looked up at her, hoping the woman had not been talking for a time. Emiko would have been very rude if she had been ignoring her host. "What?" she asked.

"I think that the Verees' ownership of this farm ends with me."

"Why?" Emiko asked. The farm was very successful, she knew that. She had even heard Marion talking about buying another two thousand square kilometres.

"I have two brothers you know. Both left the farm by the time they were eighteen, heading off into the unknown, wanting to see what the other planets might offer. They are both working with a Jager team way out in 'Never Never'." She laughed. "They were the children of a pioneer. Our father left Earth to find something new. They are just like him. I'm like him too. But I loved this farm just a little more than I loved the idea of going someplace new."

"My children, whether adopted or not, are just like my brothers. None of them really love this place. You've seen how I have to keep on them to be sure that they do their chores?"

Emiko nodded.

"It is home for them, but they don't want to run it. So, unless I adopt another farmer, and Andy has made it clear we are not adopting any more children, this place ends with me."

"That's sad," Emiko said.

"It is. A little. The Gaians are worried that we will over populate these planets. Most of our kids don't want to stay on one planet. They want to go off and find new ones. Do their parents one better. They want to be on the edge of the frontier. And of course the Gaians get mad about that too. Say we are negatively affecting too many ecosystems. Hard to win with them," she laughed.

"My mother really hates you colonists," Emiko said. "She thinks you are all a bunch of dangerous expansionists, looking to gut the cluster just for monetary gain."

"You don't."

"No. Oh, I suspect that some worthless worlds, if you are willing to accept that any world is worthless, that might be destroyed for monetary gain, but not all of them."

"There are some very unscrupulous types out there that only care about money, but they are few and far between. The SAC managed to get some of them, but I think they were too busy hassling people like me to really make that much of a difference."

Emiko said nothing, agreeing with Marion, but not about to attack the SAC. She still felt some loyalty to it, if only because of her father and brother.

"Do you see those orange poles?" Marion asked as they crested a hill and looked down on one of the fields.

Emiko saw what she meant. A river ran through the middle of the field, on either side of it were orange poles, about one every thirty meters. "What are they?"

"They help to remove chemicals from the soil before they can get into the river. I don't use a lot of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, but I have to use a few."

"That's very responsible."

Marion nodded. "I can also reuse a lot of the chemicals in some cases. And you Gaians think we are a bunch of wasteful types."

"Not this one, not anymore." Emiko smiled at her.

"The units are expensive. To be sure I'm getting it all I'd need about three times the numbers I have right now. I can't quite afford that. The ones I have now almost bankrupted me, but the Wardens wanted to see them," she shrugged her shoulders. "I can't help thinking that for what the SAC spent to build a unit of mecha, it probably could have bought me and every farmer on this planet all the units we needed."

"They have been very stupid," Emiko agreed.

"Of course they aren't alone in that."

They rode in silence for a few minutes before Emiko asked, "Why did you adopt so many children?"

"What?"

"I've just been curious."

"I always wanted a real big family. When some friends died in one of the belt mining operations Andy and I ended up taking in their child. Since then, well, the frontier is still dangerous and there are a lot of orphans."

"Almost everyone I know on Earth is an only child."

"Earth is in sad shape. They need less population, not more. Another reason this war is so stupid. There will be no more immigration. Anyone from Earth who immigrated in the last four months is being viewed with suspicion." She sighed and shook her head. "I heard there have been a few murders."

"I guess us Earthers are not very popular here."

"With some. I personally feel that most of them are all right, and you," she looked back at Emiko, "you I would adopt if I could."

"Thank you," Emiko said. For all that had happened she was, a little surprisingly, enjoying herself.

"Here," Marion said, pulling her horse to a stop below the branches of a large tree. Gray stopped just beside the other horse without being directed to. Marion dismounted easily while Emiko got off Gray moving carefully, slowly. The horse seemed fairly high up and she did not want to fall. By the time she had gotten off Marion had walked out from under the tree and into a recently turned field. Emiko followed after her.

"I have to check the soil PH and some other things," she told Emiko. "Want to help me?"

"Sure," Emiko said.

"Here." Marion handed Emiko a bag. Emiko took it. "This is the scanner," Marion said, taking the device from a bag similar to the one she had given Emiko. "Easy to use, it has already been calibrated. You take a handful of soil," she bent down and scooped up some of the soil, "and put the sensor close to it," she said, demonstrating. "If there is a problem it will tell you. In that case take one of the markers from the bag and place it where you got the soil," she showed Emiko one of the red sticks. "Easy."

"How should I do this?"

"Go to the far end of this field, walk along the rows, take a sample about every thirty meters or so. Work your way towards the centre. We'll meet there."

"I understand," Emiko said, heading off to the far end of the field.

Marion smiled and headed off to where she would start.

Emiko bent down at the beginning of the first row and scooped up a handful of soil and tested it. She dropped it, straightened, and walked down the row about thirty meters before repeating the action.

While a little tired, Emiko did not mind the work. The freshly turned soil had a rich and pleasant smell and it was nice to be doing something. She suspected that a few of the robots could have done the work faster and more efficiently. That Marion wanted to do it herself was not too surprising though. As she had told Emiko she loved the farm.

Sometime later she found Marion sitting in the middle of one of the rows. "Are we done?" Emiko asked.

"Yes," she said. "Any problems?"

"I put down three markers."

"I'll send a couple of robots down to put things right later," she said as she stood. "Let's go and have some lunch."

Emiko's stomach growled when Marion said lunch. Emiko felt her face get a little hot. She had been eating a lot since she had got there. She suspected that it was the nanobodies swarming through her, putting right all the hunts she had taken.

Marion smiled and then walked back towards the horses.

Lunch, as it turned out, was a picnic. Marion took it out of the saddlebags, laying everything on a blanket she had had Emiko place down.

Emiko looked out over the field as they ate, feeling good. She could not remember ever having done work she had found so satisfying. She did not think she would be willing to make a life of it, but she could see why Marion liked it.

"Marion-san?"

"Yes?" Marion said, not looking at Emiko, but out at the field.

"What am I going to do?"

"What do you want to do?"

"I like it here but..."

"But you want to be doing something. You are not sure what it is, but you know you should be doing it."

"Yes."

"I'm not surprised." She turned to look at Emiko and smiled. "You remind me so much of Leisha. You have your eyes on other horizons. How did you last so long on Earth?"

"What?"

"Didn't you find it all so confining? Weren't there times you just wanted to go somewhere? To run until you were so tired that you couldn't run any farther? To be able to just drop where you were, lie back, and stare up at the sky?"

Emiko said nothing for a time. She thought back to Tokyo. Of spending entire days on the trains, using her student pass to just travel around the entire city. So much traveling yet in the end she was always back where she started. "There were times like that, but I didn't know what I wanted to do."

"Now you do."

"Yes."

"As bad as things are, at least you got your wings out of this."

"Wings?"

"You're free to fly now."

"I never thought of it like that."

"There are no endings Emiko, just new beginnings. Had enough to eat?"

Emiko nodded. While she still felt a little hungry, she had already made quite a dent in the food and did not want to look like a pig.

"Help me pack everything away and then we'll go," Marion said as she got to her feet. Emiko stood and began to clean up the remains of the picnic. In a short time they had everything returned to the saddle bags and were back on the horses.

Marion did not head back towards the house. She followed the river, heading into a forested area. They rode along the trail that ran beside the river, heading upstream. Emiko did not say anything, just concentrated on keeping her balance and wondering where Marion was taking her.

They came around a bend in the river and into a clearing. There was a man there; seated on the same side of the river they were on, fishing.

"Juan, good afternoon," Marion called.

"Afternoon," he replied, looking over at Marion, smiling.

"Any luck?" Marion asked as she pulled her horse to a halt. She got off her horse's back.

"Very little. The trout still haven't had much success and the local fish, in addition to tasting bad, seem very adept at snapping my line."

Juan was a man of average height, thin, short brown hair, dark eyes and his skin was a very light shade of brown. Emiko looked down at him from up on Gray's back and decided he was somewhat handsome.

"So," Marion took a seat beside him. "Tell me the news."

"Bjorn is very sorry about the damage his herds did to your fields and is willing to offer forty head as compensation."

"Good."

"He also says he needs to get to that river about twice a year."

"I will not have him driving those damn cattle through my fields twice a year."

"He has to. His herd has gotten too big. He needs more water. He has watering rights at the river."

"That doesn't give him the right to trample my fields."

"He knows. This is what we worked out. He'll make a corridor though your fields to drive the cattle through, line the sides with stun wire to keep them from damaging your crops."

"We're talking about a corridor about fifteen meters wide and four kilometres long. That's a hell of a lot of damage."

"Yes. He'll let you use an equivalent amount of land where your two properties border. He will also pay ten head a year and one every time he uses the corridor, provided you invite him to the barbecue."

"You are a piece of work," Marion said, but she was smiling. "Okay. I agree. Now what about my crops?"

"I've already sold sixty percent of your next harvest to the ODF at three times the price you set as the base. Now, seeing how things are, and I don't want to be branded a war profiteer, we'll say I only got twice your asking price when we figure out my commission. I suspect you'll want to stockpile a little, the rest we sell to the usual clients at a little over your base price."

"Sounds good. You have all the papers?"

"I'll drop by your place later to give them to you. Now, shall we get down to business?"

"Emiko." Marion turned to look at her. "Please come and join us."

Emiko, who had gotten off Gray, walked toward them, then sat down beside Marion.

"Emiko Miya, this is Juan Varis. Juan, this is our terrorist."

"Pleased to meet you Miss Miya," he said, offering his hand.

"Pleased to meet you as well" Emiko said.

"So," Juan said, letting go of her hand. "You are the one they are making a big stink about."

"I guess," Emiko said, not quite sure what he meant.

"It's not that well known, but someone has put a price on your head. Not too much, but enough to show they are serious. Someone wants you dead."

Emiko shrugged her shoulders. She knew that.

"You told me there was something you could do," Marion said.

"Well, I've been hearing things over the last little while. As it turns out, we aren't the only people who don't want this war."

"No big surprise," Marion said.

"Yes, but some of these people are thinking that maybe they can stop it."

"You're kidding?"

"No. Now, if this is for real, which I think it is, and the deal doesn't fall through, which it might, considering some of the personalities involved, then I can think of no better place for Miss Miya."

"Why?" Emiko asked.

"Well, they could probably use your skills for one thing, and, sitting within a military organization offers some protection."

"So what exactly are we talking about here?" Marion asked.

"Rogue players from both sides, bunch of people on the outside, a real interesting mix. As far as I can tell they want to do this to save lives."

"Sounds good if it is true," Marion said. "Trust your sources?"

"Enough."

"What would I do?" Emiko asked.

"Same thing you did on Earth mostly, but to both Solingen and the USSA."

"How dangerous is this?" Marion asked.

"Very. It is a war we'll be trying to stop."

"You said 'we'll'."

"Of course I did. I'm going in on this as well. War is bad for business after all. Oh, a lot of short term profits to be made, but I'm in it for the long haul."

"I'm not sure about this," Emiko said.

"You could stay here," Marion said. "Wait for it to be over."

"She could. A lot of people are going to be hurt in this though. Emiko could be of help in minimizing that number. As I understand it you know your way around a computer, and you made it this far. That speaks highly of you." He looked at Emiko.

Emiko said nothing; she just stared down in the water and tried to remember why she had started helping Takashi. There had been a number of reasons. The thrill. A chance to do something her mother would not approve of. To help Takashi, who she had had a crush on. Somewhere there had also been the desire to be of some use.

Juan was right. A lot of people were going to get hurt in the war.

"Do you think I could really help?" Emiko asked him.

"I think you could."

"Then, I think," she paused and considered what she was about to do. "I'd like to find out more."

"Good," he smiled. "Not committing yourself until you know the full deal. We'll leave tomorrow."

"Where are you going?" Marion asked him.

"Zanzibar."

"You're taking her there?!"

"It is where things are happening."

Emiko looked at Juan then over at Marion. She had heard about Zanzibar before, and that it was a bad place, but she had always thought that the stories were exaggerated. Looking at Marion she was beginning to rethink that.

"You better take care of her," Marion warned.

"I think she can take care of herself."

Marion nodded, but did not look completely convinced. "I'll thank you not to mention this to any of my children. Daichi and Sam would probably run off with you if they even suspected."

"This is still somewhat of a secret Marion. I'm not about to announce it to everyone."

"I'm not concerned with everyone. I'm worried about my two headstrong sons."

"You have my word that it goes not farther than us."

"Good," Marion nodded. "I'll leave you to your fishing then. I'll see you tonight for dinner." She got to her feet.

"Do you mind if I stay?" Emiko asked.

"Do you think you can get back on your own?"

"I'll bring her back," Juan told her.

"I'll see you back at the house then," Marion said, then walked to her horse.

Emiko waited until Marion had ridden off before turning her attention back to Juan. "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"Go ahead. I can't promise to answer them all."

"Who exactly are these people you are talking about?"

"I told you who they were. Can't give you names if that is what you want. There are just some people who want to stop a war. They'll recruit who they can, build up a small army, then do whatever they can to minimize the suffering."

"And why are you going to help them?"

Juan pulled his line from the water, then laid the pole aside. "I'm a businessman, a Factor. Like I said, short term there are huge profits to be made in this war, in gutting planets, but short term does not interest me. That does not mean I don't plan of profiting from this, I will. Still, I'd rather make my profit in trying to help people than from their suffering. I'm doing it partly because it is the right thing to do and partly because it gets me in on the ground floor of something that could be quite lucrative. What about you?"

"I guess part of it is to help people. Maybe a little of it is revenge, but mostly," she paused for a few seconds, "mostly I want to be able to go home."

"If you are looking to clear your name I don't think this is a good way, and even if it is there are easier ways to do that"

"Maybe," Emiko said.

"Fish?"

"No."

"Too bad. Do you write?"

"What?"

"Do you write?"

"Not really. Why?"

"Your story, it might interest a number of people, sometime in the future. Marketed right if could be quite profitable."

"Are you serious?"

"I'm always serious about profit."

"I don't think I'd like the hold my life up for people to see. Plus, so far, all it's been is me running and being scared."

"I think that is the definition of an adventure," Juan said.

* * *

Emiko packed her small bag with a selection of Leisha's wardrobe; only what she needed though Marion had been generous telling her take whatever she wanted.

There was a knock on her door. "Ready?" she heard Juan call.

"Yeah," Emiko said, pulling the bag off her bed, then walking to the door. Juan was waiting on the other side. He was wearing a suit that Emiko thought looked very good on him. She changed her assessment of him from somewhat handsome to quite handsome.

"We'll be taking a helicopter to a landing field about six hundred kilometres away. It will take us about a day and half to get to Zanzibar."

"I'm ready to go."

Juan nodded and smiled before walking away. Emiko looked back in the room, realizing that she was going to miss it. Then she followed after Juan.

They found Marion down in the kitchen, sitting at the table. The household robot was at the stove, making breakfast.

"Everyone still asleep?" Emiko asked.

"Everyone was up late last night," Marion said, holding out a cup of coffee towards Juan. "John Gilson is not much of a farmer but he knows how to throw a party."

"He also knows to let his robots handle most of the work, which is why he is a profitable farmer," Juan said, taking the cup.

"He'll regret that one day," Marion told him.

"You always say that," Juan told her.

"Will you say goodbye for me to everyone? I left some letters up in the room," Emiko said as she picked up a small loaf of fresh bread and ripped it in half. She thought about letters, how old fashioned that was.

"I will. Sit down."

Emiko sat down and began eating. Juan sat beside her and drank his coffee.

"When do you think you will be back?" Marion asked Juan.

"Not really sure."

"Got any advice?"

"You still holding that Solingen Stock?"

"Yes."

"I think it will continue to rise, for a few months, and then level off when the war starts to bog down," he paused to take a drink, "then what happens will depend on which way the war goes. If it begins to drop I would sell, invest in precious metals."

"No companies?"

"Until this war is over and done with it is hard to say which companies will still be operating when the dust settles. I'd stay away from them. Precious metals are the way to go."

"Property?"

"Chancy. If the USSA were to win I don't think they would give much respect to any deeds you held."

"Andy is thinking of buying his ship."

"Nice piece of kit. A Shunt capable ship is always useful. It will be costly though."

"We know."

"Arranging a loan?"

"No. Buying it right out, with cash."

"Well, it seems Andy has managed to arrange things well enough."

"He does manage."

"Tell me, could you and the others in the area use some insurance?"

"As in the type of insurance that blows large holes into things?"

"Is there any other kind at the moment?"

"And what would the premiums be like?"

"Say ten percent of the profits for the next six years."

"Who would we be dealing with?"

"Standard types. They are clean and so are the goods." He reached into his jacket pocket and removed a data chip. "This is the contact information. I've already paid for it all."

She took the chip. "Could we work out a rental agreement instead?"

"Renting military class weapons? What an idea," he said sarcastically.

"It was a try."

"Are you ready to go?" he asked Emiko.

Emiko held up a hand as she finished chewing the food in her mouth then swallowed. "Okay," she said, getting to her feet.

"Take care of yourself," Marion said as she stood. She placed her hands on Emiko's shoulders. "You are always welcome back."

"Thank you Verees-sama. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've been." She stepped back so she could bow deeply.

"It was no trouble," Marion told her. "Now get out of here, I can see that Juan wants to be gone."

Emiko nodded and followed after Juan. She turned around after leaving the house and waved once.

Marion watched her go then went back to the kitchen. She was going to have to call her neighbours soon and tell them about the deal she had made. Some were not going to be happy. Ten percent was not a small number. It was Juan though, and he had a soft spot in his heart for them. It was likely that he was letting them have the weapons at cost. They would be doing well.

* * *

Juan parked the small electric car near the landing pad. Once they had exited the car and removed their luggage the small vehicle started up and drove itself away.

"So you're an arms dealer," Emiko said as she walked towards the helicopter.

"No," Juan said. "I am an everything dealer, except drugs and a few other bad things."

"Aren't guns bad things?" Emiko asked.

"In the hands of Marion and her friends? No," he told her as he opened one of the cockpit doors. "They will hide them away and if they ever pull them out you will know that things have gone really bad. I have never sold so much as a bullet to anyone I thought might actually do anything stupid with it. Of course, I've been wrong a few times." He pulled himself into the helicopter.

Emiko got in on the other side. "I still don't quite understand what you do."

"Here." He handed her a set of headphones as he deactivated the security lockout. "Let me get us up first, then we'll talk."

Emiko put the headphones on and then waited. Juan quickly ran through the preflight and then started the engine. In a short time they were in the air, flying over the land.

"Okay," he said. "Basically I take care of problems. I go into a situation, find out what all sides want, and then do my best to satisfy everyone. I try to make sure that the final arrangement is mutually beneficial and lucrative to all. Mainly I work with information. I make it my business to know who wants what and who has what and then bring them together, for a percentage of the profits of course."

"What about yesterday with Verees-san and Bjorn-san?"

"Just a bit of negotiation. Marion was angry that Bjorn ran his cattle through her crops, but she understood why he did it. Bjorn was upset that he had to do it, but had no choice. Both wanted a compromise but neither wanted to give into the other. They would have in a few days if I had not been there, probably reached a similar agreement; thought there might have been some bad feelings on both sides. I was sort of a buffer for that case."

"You do this a lot?"

"Not with farmers and ranchers. Marion and all the others are friends though. Most of my clients are on the company size."

"I am beginning to think you do a little of everything."

"That is basically it. I go where the money is, to one extent or another. I try to line my pockets, my clients' pockets and keep everyone happy as much as possible. I've moderated deals between Solingen and Gravesend, between small companies that were started up in garages, and all sorts of other things. Factors tend to go where they are needed, fix things, then leave."

"So, you are trying to fix this war?"

"In a way. I'm just going where I might be needed. If things turn out well, these people are going to need someone like me around."

Emiko smiled after a moment. Juan was a rather interesting person. She still was not sure what his job was, but she thought that she might figure it out sometime in the future.

* * *

The helicopter landed at a small landing field. There they boarded a shuttle that took them into orbit. From that they transferred aboard a freighter with Charybdis markings. When Emiko commented on that Juan told her that there was no better way to get to Zanzibar than with the pirates.

The ship's cargo bay was a bit of a mess inside, and cargo spilled beyond it, stacked in the ship's corridors, everything covered with a layer of dirt and some sort of oil like material. Emiko dragged her fingertip along one wall and looked at the grey material that caked her glove then the clean area she had left on the wall.

Things improved in the crew area; everything was a bit cleaner and there was less cargo. They were shown to a small cabin and told not to leave.

"Pleasant people," Emiko said, pulling herself onto the bunk. A meter away Juan was floating, sitting cross legged in the air.

"They are a little rough, but you can trust them, if you pay them enough." He smiled. "Get some rest. The journey will more boring than anything else."

"What is Zanzibar like? I mean, I've heard stories, but really?"

"Lousy place. No law. Ugly. Still, it has its charms. There is always a lot of money to be made there if you are smart. Also, it has sort of a feeling to it. Hard to explain, but it is almost addictive. I know a lot of people who keep going back, even with all the problems."

"Is that where we will meet these people you are talking about?"

"Yes. Hopefully."

"Who are they really?"

Juan reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a bug scanner. He held it up, his eyes closed; Emiko supposed he was interfacing with it. "The man for the USSA is named Captain Frost. SCC Ranger, good reputation, knows what he is doing. I haven't heard anyone who counts say anything bad against him. From the Pleiades is a Jager, Ryuzaki. I've met him personally. Good pilot, good Jager, brave, not too much I can say that is bad about him. Somehow, I'm not sure exactly how, these two met and decided that they were going to stop the war. Got to give them credits for guts."

"How do you know all that?"

"Like I said to you before, I deal ultimately in information. It pays to know everything you can."

"So these two, Frost-san and Ryuzaki-san are setting this up?"

"Yes."

"Is there anyone else?"

"I suspect they have laid the groundwork for an alliance, but I don't know for sure. That is one of the things we are going to find out."

"They sound very brave," Emiko said after a moment.

"They are. Hard to turn your back on everything you have been loyal to your entire life and find a new way."

"So we have to wait till we get to Zanzibar before we find out exactly what is happening."

"That's the way of it. Stay here, I'm going to talk to some people." Juan opened his eyed, slowly uncrossed his legs, then pushed himself towards the doors.

Emiko watched him go then reached for her bag. She opened it and took out her computer. It had been some time since she had last tried to crack the files. If she was going to offer anything to this group she had better see what other information she might offer.

As she went to work she thought about the two men that Juan had told her about. Two men, on opposite sides of a war, who had decided to stop it.

She hoped that she would get a chance to meet them both. They sounded interesting.

* * *

Platt city was… Emiko looked around, trying to find the perfect word to describe it. It was…. She gave up and settled for ugly. There were open sewer drains, where there were even drains, no sign of any sort of electrical or water distribution systems, and garbage was scattered everywhere.

It was Zanzibar's hot season. That meant it was around fifty degrees Celsius. That temperature and the open sewers with all the trash was not a good combination.

"I think I am going to throw up," Emiko said.

"Save some," Juan said. "In a couple of minutes we are entering a really bad area."

"Thank you," Emiko said, taking a few deep breaths, which as a mistake. She leaned over and began coughing, almost losing her breakfast.

"This place really is a hell hole," Juan said, waiting for Emiko to get over it.

"I can't believe that anyone would choose to come here for a meeting."

"It wasn't really a matter of choice. There is Shiva for one thing, and this is the only truly neutral place you'll find," he said a he started walking again.

"Shiva?"

"Avatar Shiva. He more or less runs Zanzibar. Dangerous man, but useful."

"What does he do?"

"Runs the Charybdis."

"A pirate?"

"Business man and smuggler."

"So pirates, ODF and SAC," Emiko said. "Who else?" she asked with the air of someone not expecting an answer.

"The Ravagers I think."

"I really did not want to know."

"Heads up," Juan said, grabbing Emiko and pulling her off to the side.

"What?" Emiko asked, a little put off that he had just grabbed her.

"Always give way to certain people," he said, indicating three men walking down the street.

There was nothing particularly special about any of them except for the tattoos on their foreheads. A tattoo of a black sun.

"Midnight Sun?" Emiko asked. "What are they doing here?"

"No laws in Zanzibar," Juan said as he watched the three men pass. "They basically are out in the open. I give them a wide berth. Members of a suicide death cult are a dangerous lot."

"What sort of place is this?" Emiko demanded.

"Zanzibar," Juan said as if that explained it all. "Come on."

Emiko followed after him, deciding that the place could not get much worse. A short time later they rounded a corner and the wind was blowing in their faces; Emiko threw up.

"Told you," Juan said.

"I hate Zanzibar," Emiko said, lapsing into Japanese, a moment before throwing up once more.

* * *

"Akadi," Juan called, running off.

Emiko followed, not running. They were in one of the better areas of Platt city. There was still an overpowering stench from the rest of the city, but the section they were in was clean, mostly. She watched as Juan moved farther and farther ahead of her. She was not going to run. It was too damn hot to run.

They had been wandering around the city for almost two hours as Juan had searched for someone he knew. Emiko's clothing was soaked with sweat, and it smelled; she smelled.

She finally caught up with Juan who was with a young woman. She was pretty, slim, with shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes.

"He's with Shiva and Strazza," the woman said to Juan. She stressed the second name.

"Placide? No wonder you aren't with them."

"Shut up Juan!" she snapped at him.

"Sorry," he said. "Oh," he looked at Emiko. "This is Emiko Miya."

"I am pleased to meet you," Emiko said, bowing.

"Emiko, this is Akadi Kafe."

"Nice to meet you," the woman said in an easy manner.

"Emiko is wanted on Earth as a terrorist," Juan said. "She's actually just a thief."

Emiko gave him a hard look. "Hacker," she corrected.

"I guess there is a difference."

"So what is she doing here?"

"Well, there are some of us who don't care much for what the USSA is up to, and neither are these people quite thrilled with Solingen."

"Tell me something new," Akadi said.

"Well, the people on Earth decided to send her to the Pleiades so that she wouldn't be killed. I think we would have just sat on her had things not went as they did."

"I notice you said 'we'."

Juan shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? Everyone has to take a stand. So, where is Jesse at?"

"Right now I am not sure. In about an hour, landing pad 8, out near Shiva's enclave."

"You're not going?"

"I got things that have to be done."

"I'll see you later then."

"Wait one. What's your angle on this? Where's the profit?"

"Not sure yet, but there has to be some somewhere."

"And if there isn't?"

"Then I end up doing this only because I thought it was right."

"People might actually think you are decent."

"Then I better find a way to make some money." He smiled and then waved as he walked off. "Bye Akadi."

"See you later Juan. Nice to meet you Emiko."

"You too." Emiko bowed once more, then turned and followed after Juan.

"Is she a friend?" Emiko asked Juan as she caught up to him.

"More like a friend of a friend. She's an ODF Jager. Or she was."

"What?"

"Well, if she is here, that means she has switched her loyalties."

"Oh."

"You tired?"

"A little."

"Well, we got an hour to kill. Let's find a place to eat and sit for a while."

"I'm not very hungry," Emiko said. She hardly wanted to think of eating, let alone do it.

"Well, something to drink then. Come on, I know a nice little place close by."

Emiko followed after him, wondering if there was such a thing as 'a nice place' in Platt city.

* * *

"Wait here," Juan told Emiko as he headed towards a small group of people about forty meters away them. Emiko almost followed him, not wanting to be standing by herself, but did as he said.

She watched Juan as he moved pass a few people who were obviously guards, then moved close to the three that seemed to form the core of the group. He spent most of his time talking to the two men. After a few minutes he moved away from them and waved her over to him.

"What's happening?" she asked.

"They are waiting. Now we are waiting."

"Who are they?"

"The one with the blue hair is Jesse Ryuzaki. He ultimately represents the ODF, in a way. That woman, with the brown hair, is Placide Strazza. Jesse's boss in a way. She leads the Jagers, not that they are too happy about that. She's military to the core. The man with the long black hair, Avatar Shiva; leader of the Charybdis, owner of Zanzibar for all intents and purposes."

"Seems like a slightly odd mix."

"You haven't seen anything yet Emiko-chan," he said, smiling.

"So, what were you talking about?"

"Just told Jesse that I was interested in his new company," Juan smiled, "and thought I'd like to join. I tried to get Shiva to invest in a water purification plant."

"Pardon?"

"Shiva has a lot of money. He's always looking for investments, or he was. I think this war has him a bit edgy."

"Who are we waiting for?"

"Them," Juan pointed up into the sky. Emiko looked up and saw a ship descending. She shaded her eyes with her hand so she could see it a little better.

"I guess these are the SCC types."

Juan nodded.

A few minutes later the cutter had put down on the landing field. Not long after it had landed the boarding ramp was extended and several people were walking down it, towards Jesse and the others.

"The tall one, greying black hair," Juan said, "that's Redding Frost. He has a good reputation, and I think in the end he's the main force behind all this. The woman beside him with the facial tattoos, is Grey Redmond. She leads the Ravager Council on Earth. I don't know too much about her, but what I do know suggests she is best given a wide berth."

Emiko nodded, watching the people. She and Juan had moved closer so they could hear what was said.

"So you are Frost," Shiva said. "The author of all our troubles?"

"I didn't start this mess," Frost said evenly. Emiko was impressed how cool he looked, considering all the pirates, Shiva's pirates, that were around.

"But you intend to end it, ah Captain?" Shiva said, the tone of his voice changed slightly. "You are more than you would appear; it seems. I think you would make a worthy adversary."

"I prefer ally, Shiva, but the choice is yours."

Emiko wondered if the alliance was in danger of collapsing before it even began. From the looks on some of the others' faces she was not alone in that worry.

A man rushed up, pushing by Emiko, making straight for Shiva. Emiko could not hear what the man said to Shiva, but suddenly Shiva tensed. "On my own territory!?" he yelled. "How dare they! Scramble the Crossbones Wing," he snapped at the man who had brought him the news. "I want the battle site secured and the interlopers taken! Now!"

Shiva turned back to Frost. "We have received word that your friend Talbot has been attacked; I have launched my forces to aid him, but we may already be too late."

"We have to go there," Frost said.

"I have a cruiser standing by," Shiva said.

Frost nodded. "Let's go."

Shiva turned and headed off, everyone falling in behind him. Emiko saw Jesse and Redding move close together. It was obvious they were talking, but she could not hear what they said. Juan grabbed her arm and pulled her along after them.

"Where are we going?" Emiko asked.

"With Shiva and the others."

"With them?"

"It is with them that the interesting things will be happening."

"But shouldn't we ask?"

"If I asked someone might say no."

"If you don't someone might shoot you."

"Me? Never. Beat maybe."

"Great," Emiko said as he led her towards the pirate cruiser.

* * *

Emiko stayed out of the way for the most part. She found a small corner to hide in, where no one was likely to bother her, took out her computer and began to work. She could not offer much in the way of combat abilities, but the information she had stolen might yet be of use.

Things were happening around her, she heard people talking, Juan kept her informed. They found the cutter, or its remains, scattered in an area sixteen cubic kilometres. There was only one survivor of the ship. Juan came and got her, dragging her to the med lab, or just outside of it, with a large group of other people.

"The man in there is named Campbell Hahn," Juan told her. "He was Talbot's Chief Executive Officer."

"Is he going to live?"

"We'll know soon."

Emiko moved closer and found a space small enough for her to peak through the door.

"What happened?" Redding asked the man on the table. A woman in the green uniform of Gaian Warden was working on the man. She shot Captain Frost an angry look, probably not happy he was in her way.

"The bastards jumped us," the man coughed and groaned. "Six of them. They were waiting along our flight path and opened up on the cutter as soon as we came out of the 'box'. I was in the 'head' when it happened; I cut the Zephyr loose to engage and they tore me and my suit apart."

"Who were they?" Frost asked. "Who sent them?"

"They were unmarked Galliards," he coughed again. "They had specialized mounts though, had to be for eco-science gear, special equipment. Warden equipment. It had to be Dominica's doing."

"No," Redding said. "I refuse to believe that Auden would be a part of it."

"Auden Dominica?" Emiko asked softly, looking up at Juan.

"You know her?"

"She's one of my mother's best friends."

"Name dropper."

Emiko turned her attention back to the conversation going on in the med lab. She had missed some of it. Jesse was talking. "Do you think the USSA suspects?"

"I doubt it," Campbell wheezed. "Otherwise they would have just sent a cruiser to arrest us. No, this was an assassination, pure and simple."

"Shut up and let me save his life," the woman in the Warden uniform snapped. "Wait out in the hall or he won't be the only one that needs my services.

With the door to the med lab closed and no way to see what was happening, people began to drift away. Juan followed after the main group and Emiko followed after him. They left the rotating living section and headed for the flight deck. It was one of the larger spaces on the ship.

Emiko floated into the area behind Juan. Her time in space had given her greater ability to function in zero-G but she still liked to move no faster than a walk.

Placide stood in the middle of the deck, looking over at the battered head of the Galliard that they had found Campbell in. "You risked your lives to do this," she said, looking over at Jesse and Redding. "All of you. My opposite number is dead because he chose to stand against this nightmare." She looked directly at Jesse. "Can I do anything less?"

Grey shrugged her shoulders. "I'm already in. We don't have a choice," she said, then looked at Shiva.

"As associates, I would feel some responsibility to join you," he said slowly to Grey. "But to blazes with that! This is personal. Count me in," he said, then turned to look at Redding.

Redding looked over at Jesse, Emiko saw Jesse smile.

"Let's get on with it," Jesse said.

"Well," Juan said to her. "It has truly begun."

* * *

Emiko had moved into living quarters, she was alone in the small galley, working on her computer. She was no longer just a fugitive on the run. She was part of an organization that had set for itself the task of stopping a war. She was not quite sure how that could be done. Her history told her many wars did not so much as stop as just grind to a halt when too much had been lost.

Juan seemed hopeful. He had come in a while before for a cup of coffee and to tell her that the organization had a name. The Starblade Battalion. Redding Frost seemed to be the choice to lead it.

She looked down at the computer screen, and then blinked as the stream of incoherent data suddenly began to take on order. After a few seconds she found herself staring at a list of names.

After reading the first few she got up and went in search of Juan.

* * *

Emiko stood in the middle of the room, feeling nervous. The men and women there were staring at her, as if trying to figure out who she was. Juan was by the door. He had told her to do all the talking.

"So," Redding said, "you are the terrorist we were hearing so much about before we left. I don't think your father is too happy about this."

"I'm not really a terrorist," she said.

"I'd keep her away from Karyana," Jesse said.

"Yes," Redding nodded.

"Not a terrorist," Shiva said. "But still a criminal."

"As we all are just for being here," Placide said. "Sit down Miss Miya, there is no reason to stand.

Emiko took a seat and opened her computer. "I stole some data from a rather secure computer site," she explained. "There were a number of encrypted files. When I decrypted the first I found out it was a Gaian plan for an eco-state in the colonies."

"We know about that," Redding told her.

Emiko nodded. "I just got into the second file and I found a list of names. Your friend, Talbot-san, was on it. I think I recognized a few other names as well. People who died in the last few weeks, before I left earth."

"Let's see it," Jesse said.

Emiko handed him a wireless data brick. He gave it to Shiva who slotted it into a hub. She watched as everyone there got a far off look in their eyes, as they accessed the data within.

"Two of those people died in the days before I left," Redding said.

"An assassination list." Jesse shook his head.

"People the inner circle want dead."

"If they want them dead, we want them alive," Grey told everyone there.

"It looks like we have a mission." Redding's gaze had cleared as he looked around the meeting room.

"Sir." Juan stepped forward. "I can put together a team and have them on Earth in five days."

Redding looked over at Jesse. Jesse nodded.

"Okay, that's one team."

"Get me back to Earth and I'll get my people on it," Grey added.

"We have to find out why the inner circle wants these people dead. Once we know that we can decide if we are going to have to leave them where they are and protect them or if we can pull them out to safety," Redding told them.

"Juan?" Jesse looked over at him.

"Give me a few hours; I'll put together dossiers on all of them. Then I have to go."

"What is your real interest in making the journey to Earth?" Shiva asked.

"Tess Belin," he told the man.

"Who is she?" Shiva asked.

"Designer in Team Bukaroo. That is not why they have targeted her though. She is involved with Carter Jones. I suspect the Gaians want to send a message. That is one reason to keep her alive. The other, well, I suspect you'll need to build your own weapon systems sooner or later. If that is the case, this would be a good woman to have on your team."

"How do you know all that?" Redding asked him.

"Trade secret," Juan told him.

"Mr. Varis has a talent for knowing things. I've never known him to be wrong."

"Stop, you're making me blush." Juan smiled at Jesse.

"I've also never known him not to become a pain in the ass given time."

"Very well," Redding said. "Mr. Varis, prepare those dossiers then put your team together. By the time you leave Miss Redmond…"

"Grey."

"Grey should be able to tell you where to rendezvous with her people."

"Yes sir," Juan said.

"Miss Miya, you will continue to work on those files."

"Sir, I want her on my team."

Redding looked at Juan for a moment, then nodded.

"I'll provide you with a copy of the files Captain Frost," Emiko said.

"Good. You have your orders," he told them.

Emiko stood and left the room with Juan.

"Well," Redding said, "it seems our numbers are growing."

"They'll have to grow a lot more if we are to stand a chance," Shiva told him.

"All in good time," the Captain said. "Now, we were discussing supply issues were we not?"

"We can crack open some old warehouses and get you weapons and stuff," Grey told him.

"Good," Redding nodded.

* * *

Closing Credits Stay by Lisa Loeb

* * *

Music Picks

Grey Redmond - Wrecking Ball by Mother Mother

* * *

The section with Frost, Jesse, Talbot Shiva and others come from the Starblade Battalion campaign guide, page 110, Redding Frost's log, altered and told from Emiko's perspective.


	4. Episode 4

**A Story of the Starblade Battalion**

_"This war that is coming is for us"_

Episode 4 (2180.05.13)

by Shawn Hagen

Starblade Battalion is the Property of Games.

* * *

Opening Credits-Talking Heads, Life During War Time Version

* * *

Juan led Emiko through the streets of Zanzibar once more; much to her distress. She had acquired a simple, somewhat unobtrusive filter mask, which helped with the smell. The dark grey jacket she wore was woven of ballistic fibres and she had a rather large pistol in a shoulder holster. All of it had been pressed upon her by one of Avatar Shiva's people. It seemed she was already drawing stores from the newly formed Starblade Battalion.

"Here," Juan said, leading her towards a heavily fortified building. Emiko followed and did not say anything.

The doorway was in a deep recess. The door itself was an armoured plate. Juan turned to a call box and placed his hand on the palm scanner. "Juan Varris," he said aloud. "Here to speak with Diane Vichy."

"What is your business?" a voice came from a small speaker, whoever it was enunciating each word clearly. Emiko wondered if it was computer generated.

"Private."

A moment passed, then they heard, "Please wait."

She and Juan waited. After almost two minutes the door opened up. Juan turned and walked through; Emiko followed close on his heels. As soon as they were in the door closed behind them

"Stop," they were commanded. "Put your hands up and make no sudden movements."

Emiko put her hands into the air, noting Juan did the same. A moment later bands of light began to cross their bodies as they underwent a scan.

"Please remove your weapons and place them on the floor in front of you." There was a pause, and then, "All of your weapons."

Emiko took the pistol from the shoulder holster. She was sure to move slowly. While nothing had been said about what might happen if she were to make any sudden moves, she had little doubt it would be bad.

Juan took a pistol from inside his coat, another from a wrist holster, two throwing knives from a sheath on his other wrist, a fighting knife from the small of his back, and another pistol from an ankle holster. When he looked up he saw that Emiko was staring at him. "What? It's Zanzibar after all. You can't have too many weapons."

Emiko just shook her head.

"Please come inside," the voice said as a door in the far wall opened.

Emiko followed Juan through the doorway. The next room was quite different from the one they had left. Where that had been empty and sterile, this one was warm, full of furniture and plants as well as several people all of whom where looking at them. Juan looked around for a moment, nodded greetings to a few of those people, before walking towards the back of the room and a woman who leaned against a wall, watching him.

"Diane," Juan said to the woman he approached. "It's nice to see you again."

Emiko leaned around Juan to better see the woman. She was wearing a loose pair of pants, black slippers and a tank top. Her short brown hair was long in front, her bangs partially covering her left eye. She was taller than average and well muscled. She was also very attractive.

"Juan Varris, and the terrorist from Earth," Diane said, looking at both of them.

"That's been my line up to now." Juan smiled. "I'm impressed."

"The official lines are down, but some information still gets through. I take it that the charges against her have been exaggerated?"

"That is so."

"They are lies," Emiko said.

"I'm sure that some of them are. What do you want Juan?"

"I suspect you know. Why else would you be on Zanzibar?"

"Best place to observe the criminal element."

"Please Diane, you don't have to come to Zanzibar to cruise for trouble. It finds you often enough. Mind if we sit?"

"Yes, but do so anyway."

Juan pulled two chairs close to the table for himself and Emiko. "Emiko Miya," he said when they were seated. "This is Marshall Diane

Vichy. She has the highest fatal arrest record in all of the Pleiades. She is rather famous. Diane, this is Emiko Miya, recently a high school student in Tokyo as well as a hacker. Now, as you know, a wanted terrorist on Earth."

"I am pleased to meet you," Emiko said formally, in Japanese.

"Emiko-kun," Diane said as she took a seat as well. "Since we are doing introductions." She smiled. "Juan Varris," she paused, "firmly in the grey area of legality. Only luck and several very good lawyers have kept him out of prison. He is good at what he does though."

Emiko looked between the two of them. It was obvious that Diane had a low opinion of Juan, but Juan did not seem to feel that way towards Diane.

"She's arrested me three times..."

"Four," Diane said.

"I refuse to count that time you pulled me over for speeding. She has arrested me three times, and I have managed to escape serious charges all three times. We have a bit of history."

"You're going to make a mistake one day." She smiled.

"Be that as it may, you know that a war will start soon. Right now both sides are digging in, strengthening their defences. Soon they will start ripping into each other and a lot of people will die. That's why you are here. You've heard that maybe someone might be trying to do something about it."

"Maybe," she said, neither confirming nor denying.

"Can we talk?" Juan asked.

"Here's as good as any place."

"SCC, Jager, Charybdis, Ravagers, for now. We'll probably soon start adding SAC and ODF. Numbers are small at the moment, but they will increase. We're going to stop this war."

"Give me some names? I know Avatar will be involved with this, but who else."

"Redding Frost."

"Doesn't mean anything to me."

"Jesse Ryuzaki."

Diane smiled. "Him I know."

"This is for real Diane. We need help. I'm putting together a team. I need you."

"You're a bastard Juan, but as it so happens if something like this could work you are among a small group of people who could make it work smoothly. So you're right, I heard things, and I'm in, but don't make the mistake of thinking I'm going to be your friend."

"How do you know he's telling the truth?" Emiko asked. The Marshall had agreed readily enough.

"Juan is not stupid enough to lie to me."

Juan nodded. "I'm not. The last thing I'd want to do is give Diane a personal reason to not like me."

"So that's out of the way, what's the plan?" Diane asked him.

"Can you find me Tern?"

"I should be able to."

"Think you can get him and John B. to Arcadia in two days?"

She snorted. "You're not asking for much," she said sarcastically.

"Tight time frames."

"I can do. As much as I hate to say this, it will be expensive."

"I'm not surprised. Here, you can draw from this account," he told her, handing her a credit brick.

"How much is on it?"

"Two million credits."

"Pardon?"

"Two million. Why do things small?"

"This organization has more money than I would have thought."

"They've started issuing war bonds."

"This is your money isn't it?"

"I was saving it for a rainy day. It's pouring Diane. And if we win, I get it back, plus one percent compounded yearly. Not the best rate, but I'm a sucker for a good cause."

"Watch out for this one Emiko-kun." Diane turned to look at her. "Just when you think you know how he's going to dodge, he pulls something like this."

"What can I say, I am a mystery. Now, as I said, we are on a tight schedule. I will see you at the Second Arcadian Spinner, docking bay 3F."

"I'll be there, with Tern, even if I have to drag him there."

"Let's go Emiko." He got to his feet.

"Take care," Diane said. "It is beginning to get a little crazy out there."

"Take your own advice," Juan said, heading back the way he had come.

"Watch your back Emiko-kun, dangerous cluster out there and Juan's luck only extends to himself."

"Hai, Vichy-san."

"Diane."

"Diane-san."

"Let's go," Juan said.

"Sayonara," Emiko said over her shoulder as she ran to catch up to Juan.

* * *

Diane watched as they went and then got to her feet. She had a lot of things to do and not much time. She picked the credit brick up from the table, flipped it into the air, and then caught it with a swiping motion. "You bastard," she said, smiling.

* * *

It was a cathedral: A cathedral of black rock, with stalactites and stalagmites serving as its ornamentation. It was vast, the many candles and electric lights failed to pierce that darkness beyond a hundred meters from the altar.

The altar was a simple black slab of stone, balanced upon one stalagmite that had been cut for that purpose. One each of the four corners was a candle, each identical down to how far they had burnt away. In the middle of the altar was a holoprojector. Above the black stone danced small projections of Earth, Mars, Solingen, Telluria, Hammersmith, Four Winds and Arcadia. They spun about each other, an eternal, complex ballet, seeming to never repeat itself.

There were only three people in the cathedral, though it could hold thousands.

A young woman, pretty but for a gauntness about her. Her black hair hung in a braid down her back. On her forehead was a tattoo of a Midnight Sun. She stared wide eyed at the altar, her attention rapt on the dancing planets.

Standing just to the side of the altar was a man of average height, with long pale blonde hair, thin braids just behind his ears. His eyes were a piecing grey and they never left the young woman. He had an angular face, hard planes that were somehow beautiful.

"Child, look at me," he said, his rich voice filling the cathedral.

"Yes Nemyss," she said, shifting all her attention onto him.

"There is no god," he told her, walking toward her. "Or if there is he or she has no concern for us." He reached down and gently cupped her chin, tilting her head up so that he could look into her eyes.

"Everything ends. Everything dies. Humanity should have died. We had grown proud, and strong, and that was what doomed us. That was proper. Yet we survived. Some might call that a testament to human spirit. I call it an insult to what was right. What should have been." He looked down into her eyes, tightening his grip a little to reinforce his words. He could have broken her jaw if he wanted to. He did not.

"Yes," she said breathily. She was shivering ever so slightly, but there was a smile on her face.

"Humanity will end. There is no way to escape that. Every species has its time and we are living beyond ours. We are the best, the proudest and I will not have us destroyed by a pitiful virus, or some other mindless thing. Humanity will die, and it will be destroyed by itself. That is the only fitting way for us to go."

"Yes," she said, and she might have fallen forward if not for the man holding her up, with his hands and his eyes.

"We are living in Mappyo, the end of time. We are the few lucky ones that will see this. Humanity ends now, as it should. We live and die, especially die, to see the end. We are blessed."

"Yes," her voice was but a whisper, and her knees faltered and she stumbled.

"Remember that my child," he told her, grabbing her shoulder with his free hand, pulling her to her straight. "We are blessed for we are here for the end and we know it. We know it because we will bring it about. We don't need a god," he looked into her eyes, putting both hands on her shoulders. "We are gods!"

"Yes," she said, her frame shaking, tears running from her eyes. "Yes!"

He leaned forward and kissed her on her forehead, his dry lips brushing the tattoo. "Go now. Do what you must. And know that all will join you in whatever lays beyond soon enough."

"Yes Nemyss," she said, bowing deeply as she stepped back. "It will be done."

He nodded and watched her go. In a short time she was lost in the shadow.

"Grendel," Tauutus said, turning around to face the other man.

"Yes Nemyss," Grendel Misti said, stepping close. He was a thin man, average height, with a thatch of straw blonde hair and small blue eyes.

"This war that is coming is for us. We will be there to reap the harvest of this seeding. It is for us and us alone. You know that?"

"Billions will die in the war. More will die after it."

"I have heard disturbing rumours. Rumours that some think to stop it."

"As have I Nemyss."

"Our efforts have been hampered as of late. This war renews us. I will not have it end."

"Yes Nemyss."

"Find out what you can. Find out who these dreamers are. They will be destroyed. I have no place for them."

"Yes Nemyss."

"Serve me well in this Grendel. Fail me, and I might not let you die," he told the man, then turned and walked off. The shadow soon swallowed him up.

Grendel did not move for a time as he fought to control his fear. `I might not let you die'. The words terrified him. The Nemyss had done that before. Locked those whom had failed him into cold sleep boxes, mounted with solar panels for power, set in a stable orbit around a young sun. The thought of those millions and millions of years, not being able to die, it truly terrified Grendel.

He would not fail. Those that wanted to stop the war and death were fools. They did not see the times for what they were. They did not understand the power. And yet he would give the fools a great gift. He would give them death.

* * *

"I'm going to die," Emiko said, leaning against a tiny section of a trunk of a tree the size of a city. In fact the city she was within was built in and around that tree. She was gasping for breath, wheezing.

"You're not going to die," Juan told her. He was taking deep breaths himself but did not seem as bothered as she was. "Take another hit."

Emiko brought the small oxygen cylinder to her mouth and took a deep breath. She felt better right away but knew the feeling would fade.

"How can people live here?"

"You get used to it. And for a place this beautiful, you put up with a lot," he told her as he walked towards one of the bridges. "Plus there are nano-treatments averrable to increase lung efficiency."

Emiko followed, looking around. When she did not feel like she was drowning in the low pressure atmosphere, she was impressed by the huge trees. She had heard of Arcadia, it was considered the jewel of the Pleiades by the Gaians, but seeing it was a different matter entirely. Why a place with such huge trees had such a low atmospheric pressure was somewhat confusing to her.

The trees, they were huge. Many were 2000 to 3000 meters at the base, and stretched up high into the sky. They were not bothered by the humans that made their homes in the branches. Research suggested nothing short of a nuclear blast could harm one of the vast trees.

Through the openings in the canopy she could see the sky; blue and tinged with gold. Every now and then she would spot one of the huge Arcadian Dragons flying through the branches. It was a fairy-tale world.

Then the low air pressure would get to her again and she would be feeling miserable. Seeing Arcadia made the empty place inside of her that missed Tokyo recede a little. She wondered if she could get used to the atmosphere as Juan said. If she could never go home, then she might be happy in a place like Arcadia.

"Here we are," Juan said, shaking Emiko from her thoughts.

Emiko looked at the building he was pointing at. She was reminded of the plantation houses she had seen in history texts, from the time before the American civil war. Juan went on while she just stared at it. The stone, well they looked like stone, columns at the front entrance stretched up the entire four story height of the house.

She shook her head and blinked, then saw that Juan was almost at the steps. She ran after him, regretting it instantly because of the thin atmosphere, and caught him at the front doors. They were opened almost as soon as Juan reached them. He stepped through, Emiko at his heels.

"How can I help you sir," a young, very pretty woman, wearing a tuxedo asked him.

"I'd like to speak with Kareen Maxil," Juan said.

"Who shall I tell her is calling?"

"Juan Varris."

"Of course Mr. Varris," she said. "Let me show you to the lounge."

"Thank you."

The woman led them to a comfortable room just past the foyer. The furnishing was mostly dark woods and leather. A large bar, topped in what looked like marble, took up most of the far wall. No one was there when they entered but shortly after the woman who had greeted them left, another young woman, this one in a maids uniform, brought them coffee, tea and sandwiches.

"What is this place?" Emiko asked.

"I think you might say it is a brothel."

"Nanda?" Emiko asked, surprise making her slip into Japanese.

"Baishunyado," he said.

"I know what brothel means," Emiko said, her face flushing. "What are we doing here?"

"This is where Ree works."

"Doing what?"

"Being paid obscene amounts of money to have sex with very wealthy people."

"She's a prostitute?"

"I think she might prefer escort or courtesan perhaps."

"Why do you want to talk to a courtesan?"

"She is one of the best mecha pilots there is."

"Then what is she doing working here?"

"She can't fly military suits. She won't fly anything."

"If she is the best..."

"Blackballed. No one even slightly legit will touch her. She won't work with pirates or SAC. This is apparently her fallback plan."

"Why was she blackballed?"

"Not my story to tell."

Emiko waited to see if he would add anything else. When it was obvious that he was not going to she turned her attention back to the food in front of her. She did her best to try to forget that she was in a brothel. She was not having much luck. She found herself wondering what might have happened on the couch they were sitting on.

The woman who had first met them showed up to save Emiko from her growing sense of discomfort that was about to make her leap from the couch. As it was she used the woman's entrance to calmly stand.

"Miss Maxil will see you now," she said.

"Thank you," Juan said, getting to her feet.

The woman led them into the house and up two flights of stairs. Every time Emiko passed an open door she averted her eyes for fear of what she might see. The woman leading them saw her doing so and hid a smile behind her hand. On seeing that Emiko felt her cheeks grow hotter.

The woman stopped in front of a door and knocked. "Miss Maxil, your guests are here," she called.

"Show them in," a voice replied, muffled by the thickness of the door.

"Please." The woman opened the door for them. Juan smiled and entered, Emiko followed. She heard the door close behind her.

The room she found herself in was large, and it had huge windows that looked out over a huge expanse of canopy. It was quite beautiful, but not quite as beautiful as the woman sitting up in the bed. Another young woman, in a maid uniform, was buffing the woman's finger nails.

"Juan," she said. "What a pleasant surprise. Have you finally decided to part with some of your money, or," she looked at Emiko, "are you bringing me a gift?"

Emiko felt her cheeks grow even hotter, though she would have thought that impossible not so long ago. She was very much out of her element. Sex was just a mystery to her.

"No, sorry. I'm here on business."

"Janet, could you leave us for a time," Ree said to the maid.

"Yes Miss Maxil." The maid gathered up her things and left.

"Can we talk?" Juan asked, walking over to take a seat on the foot of her bed.

"Really Juan," she laughed. "If there was even the rumour of this place being bugged our business would dry up instantly."

"Stupid question. Okay, here it is. I've joined a group of people who want to stop this war. I need a mecha pilot for my team. You're the best. You'll be going after SAC and ODF and whoever else gets in our way. Want in?"

"You have to ask?" She threw off the covers and swung her feet out of the bed so she was sitting. The short night gown she was wearing did little to conceal, but Emiko doubted it was meant to. "What did you get me?" she asked, sounding excited.

"Nothing as of yet."

"Idiot," she said. "If you had a suit ready I would have probably would have," she paused. "Well, let's say you would not have forgotten it anytime soon."

"I'm sure we'll get you a ride soon enough."

"It can never be soon enough for me," she said, lying back on the bed. "It has been over a year. I dream about them you know?" She sat up and looked at him. "The best kind of dreams."

"You scare me a little," he told her.

"I'll scare people a lot more, if they get into my sites." Her smile seemed terribly inappropriate for the matter she was discussing.

"We'll be linking up with the rest of the team in about eleven hours. Can you be ready to go by then?" he asked as he stood up.

"I could go now."

"I won't rush you," he said, opening the closet. "I'm sure you'll need plenty of time to pack all your things." He pulled an item of very little red silk from the closet. "Very fetching."

"Do you want it? I think it is tasteless."

"Red's not my colour." He let it go. "Can you keep Emiko company for me?"

"Where are you going?" both Emiko and Ree asked at almost the same time.

"Just to talk to an old friend."

"I'll make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble."

"I should be back in two or three hours."

"I'll be waiting," Ree said.

"Later Emiko," he said, leaving the room.

Emiko watched him go, wishing she could go with him.

* * *

Ree smiled, staring off into space. It had been so long since she had last flown. She had made herself stop thinking about it, the only way to deal with it. Now she could think about it again and she realized how much she had missed it. She could not wait to feel the confines of a mecha's cockpit, the controls in her hands, the sense of power it gave her. She was back.

She suddenly realized that Emiko was just standing by the far wall, looking everywhere but at her.

"We haven't been properly introduced have we? I'm Kareen Maxil.

"Miya Emiko. I am pleased to meet you." She spoke quickly and bowed.

"Well Emi-chan, it looks like we will be working together. We should get to know each other. Come, sit." She patted her bed.

Emiko stared at the woman and the bed.

"I won't bite." Ree laughed.

The girl started, blushed a little, perhaps thinking she was being rude. She walked over to the bed and took a seat beside Ree.

"Well, if you haven't guessed, Juan wants me because I'm a very good mecha pilot. What is your specialty?"

"Computers, mostly," Emiko told her. "They kind of got me in trouble," she added, and then after a moment sighed. "I stole some data that was a little too important."

"Where are you from?"

"Tokyo."

"So, an Earther," Ree said. "Good planet to be one on, well, maybe not in your case."

"Why aren't you flying anymore?" Emiko asked.

"Juan didn't tell you?"

"He said it wasn't his story to tell. Of course he seems to like telling my story."

"That's Juan for you. My story," she slid closer to Emiko and leaned up against her, "well, let's see. I was always fascinated by mechs. Was piloting them by the time I was twelve. By the time I was seventeen I was flying in Solingen's Militia, then the ODF when it was created. That was when the bad thing happened."

"What?"

"Transferred to Infinity Force commanded by General Falkirk London." There was certain sharpness to her voice when she said the name. "Political appointee and incredible idiot. We were supposed to be hitting this pirate base, Falkirk thought he had a great plan, ignored Pitt, his second in command, when he tried to tell him how things were. I was supposed to take my battalion in on point. It was suicide. I told him. He disagreed. I shot him."

"You shot him?"

"In the leg. Flesh wound. Got him off the bridge. After that everything went perfectly. Well, except for the court martial that followed. It was only that I was right that kept them from giving me the death penalty, which is what Falkirk and his high up buddies were pushing for. They just gave me a dishonourable discharge, pulled my papers, that sort of thing. Falkirk's friends ensured that no one would touch me after that." Ree smiled. "I'm back now."

"Why is it easier to breathe here?" Emiko asked.

"What?"

"It's just that I had such a hard time breathing before..."

"Positive pressure air generators."

"Oh."

"You're uncomfortable with me leaning up against you aren't you?"

"A little," Emiko said.

"Emi-chan, you must learn to relax," Ree said, then stood up. "I got to go talk to my boss. I'm going to send someone on in here to pack some of my things. If you see anything you like in what's left, feel free to take it."

"Did you really shoot him?"

"With his own service pistol. Don't worry Emi-chan. You'd have to be incredibly stupid before I would shoot you."

She laughed and then walked towards the door.

* * *

Emiko watched as Ree left the room, and then fell back onto the bed to stare up at the ceiling. What had she got herself into? Still, it was better than being a prisoner on Earth. She thought. Telling herself that she would just rest, Emiko closed her eyes, too tired to think much on what the bed had been used for. A short time later she was asleep.

* * *

"Juan, it's been a while," the big man said, offering his hand to Juan.

"We've both been busy Mr. Douglas."

"Fred."

"Fred."

"Well, so what are you doing here?"

"The war brings me."

"Nasty business that." He sucked air through his teeth. "We of course are seriously considering an alliance with the USSA. It is for the best. I just have to convince that idiot Sandringham of that."

"Do you really think so?"

"Of course. Look at this world." He indicated the view out his window. "Think of what the likes of Solingen might do if they had their way."

"Not too much," Juan said. "After all, this place offers more as a tourist attraction then as a raw materials world."

Fred's only reaction was to blink. After several seconds he asked "What are you here for?"

"Just testing the waters." Juan smiled. "I think I'll be off now."

"Wait, did Solingen send you?"

"Fred," Juan said, sounding hurt. "Do you think Solingen thinks that much of me? I'm just here to say hello to an old friend and maybe get a feel for things. You know me, information is money."

"You could be of great help if you decided to help us. Can't you see that the USSA is right?"

"Not really. Good bye Fred," Juan said as he walked out of the office.

* * *

Several minutes after Juan had left Fred was still wondering what the young Factor was up to. With Juan things were never simple. He knew much more than he ever let on and was always two or three steps ahead of everyone else. A great help if he was on their side. Not on their side though...

Fred sighed and reached for his phone.

* * *

Juan found Ree waiting for him in the lounge. It was busy with maids who were putting everything right, preparing it for the evening. She was seated at the bar, her attention of a small holostage projected in front of her. She was wearing a one piece body stocking, ankle high boots and a short leather jacket. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun.

"Afternoon," Juan said as he sat beside her. "Where's Emiko?"

"Upstairs, in my bed, dead to the world. Tired girl."

"She's had a busy few days."

"I guess. A bit high strung, but nice."

"Yeah. What are you reading?"

"The files on her computer."

"Ree," he said disapprovingly.

"Hey, she could have left it off, had it locked down. Someone said there were no accidents. I think she wanted me to read it."

Juan shook his head. "Anything interesting?"

"Oh, this proposal for a Gaian Eco-Police state is interesting. Kind of like how a horror novel is interesting."

"Quite the plan."

"I think I'd beg to be let back into the ODF if it would give me a chance to stop this."

"Well, you don't have to."

"She's also got a diary in here. Nothing juicy mind you, but interesting. This is one brave girl."

"So I've heard."

"You'd never get me to go out of an airlock without protection."

"What?"

"She blew herself out of an airlock to get to a ship. Not her idea, but she had to press the button."

"She's psychotic."

"I don't think so. When everything is as bad as it could get, she's the one I'd want on my side."

"High praise."

"I think she deserves it, maybe." Ree shut the computer down, the holostage fading away. "So, what do you say you tell me a little more about this deal, and we can talk here before you ask."

"We got an SCC Ranger meeting up with a Jager after the battle at the rings. They both decide that no one really wants the war and decide to stop it."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. They bring in more of their respective sides, the Ravagers from Earth, the Chayrbdis, a few others, pull them together and forge an alliance."

"Sounds a bit out there."

"It was a bit out there, and I saw it happen."

"Numbers?"

"Not many, not right now. They expect more."

"What exactly will we be doing?"

"They've got a basic plan hashed out. They are going to build up a base of people, mostly people on the outside for now; they'll take whoever they can get though. After that, start making as many friends as they can. Help whoever they can. Get some rumours started. They'll cash in on those when they go public. That's when they expect a lot more support to come in."

"Sounds plausible."

"Then they stop the war. Of course they'll be working to stop the war before then, but quiet stuff. Sabotage, theft, cutting supply lines, that kind of thing."

"So if I steal a mecha from either side that would be a good thing?"

"Yes Ree, you can steal any suit you can find."

"Yes!" she said, slapping her hand against the top of the bar.

"After that they take the Solingen Board of Directors and this Gaian Circle out of the picture."

"As in, terminally?"

"If that's what it takes."

"I guess I couldn't expect something like this to be nice and clean."

"And finally they set up a new government."

"Well, that explains it."

"Explains what?"

"You would love the chance to be on the ground floor of a new government."

"Well, it does offer some interesting possibilities. But that is only a small part of it. I didn't know that they were planning to set up a new government when I threw in with them."

"Like there is something you don't know. Who else is in this merry band?"

"Heard of Diane Vichy?"

"Sounds familiar. Marshal?"

"The best."

"Okay. Who else?"

"Tern Roarke."

"Why does that name sound familiar? One of Andre's kids?"

"Youngest son."

"There is something else." Ree tapped a finger on the bar top.

"John B."

"No?" She looked at him, her expression saying that she did not believe it.

"Yes."

"Well, this is going to be interesting."

"It will be that."

"We ready to go?"

"There's a shuttle leaving in two hours. No rush."

"I'm going to wake Emi-chan." Ree stood and grabbed the computer. "Order what you want, it's on me."

"Thanks," Juan told her, watching her go. He turned around and caught the attention of one of the maids. "Think I could get a steak sandwich and a beer?" he asked her.

"How would you like the steak, what kind of beer, and do you have a preferences for the bread?"

"I really like it here," Juan told her.

* * *

"Emi-chan, wake up." Emiko heard from far away.

"I'm sleepy," she mumbled, turning to bury her face in the pillow.

"Wakey wakey." She felt gentle shaking.

"Yes mom," she said, still mostly asleep.

"That's cute," Ree said.

"What?" Emiko turned over and opened her eyes, looking up at Ree. She sat up, then noticed she was not wearing much, and quickly pulled the covers up.

"Mom." Ree shook her head. "I don't think anyone's ever called me that. Emi-chan's got a mother complex," Ree sang in a lightly mocking tone

"Shut up," Emiko told her, sounding more embarrassed than angry.

"Sorry," Ree laughed.

"Why am I..." Emiko stopped. "Where are my clothes?"

"Over there," Ree pointed to a chair. "I thought you'd be more comfortable sleeping without them."

"Oh," Emiko said, something in her tone suggesting disbelief.

"Emi-chan, do you think I'd do that just to see you naked? Do you think I'm a pervert or something? Why would I do that, when I could just do this," she reached down and yanked the covers off of Emiko.

Emiko screamed as she grabbed a pillow and moved it around so she could cover herself.

"You're blushing," Ree said. "All over to by the looks of it." She craned her neck slightly.

"Stop it!" Emiko yelled.

Ree laughed. "Get dressed, we'll be going soon."

* * *

Several seconds after Ree had left Emiko sighed, put the pillow aside and got out of the bed. She was halfway to the chair with her clothes on it when Ree opened the door again and looked in. "Like I said, if there is anything in my closets that you like, feel free to take it," Ree told her before closing the door. Emiko stood there after she had left, staring at the door for several seconds, waiting to see if she was coming back.

She was trying to remember a time when she felt more embarrassed and failing to.

* * *

Emiko was feeling a little better about Ree by the time they left the brothel. While she had a slightly odd sense of humour, and seemed to take a great deal of pleasure in making Emiko blush, she was rather nice.

The trip to the shuttle port was uneventful. They took one of the cable cars that ran between the huge trees. Emiko spent most of the time pressed up against the window, looking out at the scenes that were presented to her. It was truly a beautiful. She'd have to write her mother about it as her mother had always talked about coming to Arcadia.

Then Emiko remembered why she was there. She moved away from the window. Suddenly she felt very lost.

"What is it Emi-chan," Ree asked.

"It's nothing," Emiko said.

"Doubt that," Ree said, but did not push her on it.

The shuttle port was a huge platform supported in the upper branches of a particularly vast tree. Emiko stood on the escalator, looking over the railing. She forced her mind away from dangerous thoughts and just enjoyed the beauty of it all.

They were just heading to the departure gates when three people put themselves in Juan's path.

"Mr. Varris, we have orders to detain you," the man in the centre said.

"Fred you bastard." Juan shook his head.

"We also have orders to take in any of your companions," the woman on the left said.

"Well this is just great." Ree turned on Juan. "Get me all fired up about flying mechs again, and then kick it all out from under me by getting me arrested."

"Hey! This is not my fault. What do you want me to do anyway?"

"I don't know. All I know is that I'm not going to sit on my hands waiting. I've had enough of that."

"Could you continue this conversation down at headquarters?" the man who had first spoken asked.

"Shut up," Ree snapped at him. "And you," she turned back to Juan.,"I want you to take care of this."

Behind them Emiko watched the spectacle. Her hand was moving slowly under her jacket. No one seemed to be paying her any attention.

"What do you expect me to do?" Juan demanded. "Something like this?" he asked, snapping a kick out, taking the woman at\\\in the side of her head. He reversed the kick, driving his heel into the other man's shoulder. It was not a very powerful attack but it put his opponent off balance. As soon as his foot had touched ground his other lashed out, slamming into the man's upper thigh, popping the bone out of the joint.

At almost the same time Ree slammed her foot up between the other man's legs. He doubled over and fell to the ground. "I was thinking something like that," she told him.

"Effective," he nodded. He turned to look at Emiko, noticing where her hand was. "Shooting them was not an option."

"We've still attracted some attention," Ree said.

Juan nodded. With the arguing before, the fight and the man with the dislocated hip screaming, a lot of eyes were turned towards them. "Follow my lead," he said, and then knelt down by the woman. He searched her, removed her pistol, a wallet and her handcuffs.

Ree went to work on the man she had kicked.

"You may, if you choose, not say anything at this time," Juan said, handcuffing the woman's hands behind her back. "If you do choose to make a statement, you should be aware that anything you say at this time is admissible in a court of law. You will be provided legal counsel if you are unable to obtain it on your own."

Ree looked like she was trying to keep from laughing. She handcuffed the man's hands and read him his rights.

"What's all this?" A member of the port's security broke through the crowd that had begun to gather.

"Special agent Smith," Juan stood up, flashing the badge he had taken from the woman. "How many of there are you?" he asked, his tone filled with confidence.

"Who?"

"Security!"

"Well, there are five more officers close by..."

"Get them all. I need these three to be watched closely. Their colleagues might try to break them free and we can't let that happen. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," the guard said, a little taken aback by Juan's brisk demanding manner.

"Don't believe anything they tell you. They have infiltrated high levels of our government already. Hold them here until my back up arrives."

"I will," the man said.

"You finished?" he asked Ree.

"Just about," she said, handcuffing the last man after having removed his pistol and badge.

"Then let's go. We don't have any time to waste," Juan told her, then turned to look at the security guard again. "If these three get away I will personally hold you responsible for the deaths they will cause."

"They won't get away from me!"

"Good. Let's go," he said, setting off at a quick walk towards the port. Emiko and Ree fell in on either side of him.

"How long will that last?" Ree asked him.

"Say about twenty to thirty minutes, maybe a bit longer."

"When does our shuttle leave?" Emiko asked.

"About fifteen minutes."

"Good timing. You sure that we have twenty minutes?" Ree asked as they passed through the doors leading into the departure area.

"What's for sure?" he asked her as he tossed the badge he had taken into one of the trash bins by the door. A security guard ran by them, not noticing them at all. "I'm fairly confident about this. Take Emiko into the ladies room, get rid of anything you shouldn't have and put your personal weapons into the screen bags," he told them. "I'll get the tickets. We'll meet at gate five. Hopefully we should attract less attention that way."

"Right," Ree said, veering off away from Juan.

Emiko wanted to ask Juan about what had happened outside but he was already walking off. She turned and ran to catch up to Ree.

"Do you know what that was about?" she asked Ree.

"Fred Douglas is the planet's president slash manager. It seems he decided that things would be better with Juan in custody. It is fortunate that he underestimated Juan. Don't let that business man exterior fool you. Juan is pretty ruthless when it comes down to it."

Emiko said nothing else and followed Ree into the ladies room. Ree went straight into one of the stalls. Emiko almost tried to go into the same one with her but stopped short and instead went into one of the others.

Emiko put the seat of the toilet down then sat. She reached into her coat and brought forth the heavy automatic she had been given. She took a look at the big gun, wondering what she was doing with it. Before leaving Tokyo she had almost never seen a projectile weapon let alone held one. Now she was carrying one all the time and had almost used it earlier.

She put the weapon in her lap then reached down and opened her carry-on bag. From a hidden side pocket she removed the screen bag. She had been told that the bag cost about as much as a car to make, and sold for twenty to thirty times that amount on the black market. She put the gun in the bag then placed both back into the hidden pocket.

Pulling the bag's strap over her shoulder she stood up and left the stall. Ree was standing by the exit, waiting for her. They left together, heading for gate five where Juan awaited. They passed through the security check and boarded the shuttle without any problems. It seemed all too easy to get weapons aboard and made Emiko wonder about the other flights she had taken.

No cry of alarm had gone up by the time the shuttle lifted from the landing pad. Juan showed no concern as he worked on a computer. Ree was asleep. Emiko wondered if she would ever be able to attain that sort of detachment. She wondered if she wanted to.

* * *

After they had landed Juan took them quickly to another, smaller port. There were a large number of ships there, but they looked like private craft, small cargo ships, low end yachts and research ships.

"There it is," Juan said, pointing to a flat black, leaf shaped ship. There were no sharp edges that Emiko could see; it was all gently rounded curves. She guessed it was about sixty meters long and maybe ten or twelve meters in height at its highest point.

"I thought it would be bigger," Ree said, pushing herself up into the air, holding onto the railing of the catwalk they were on.

"So the legend lets you down."

"What is it?" Emiko asked.

"The Sloop John B." Juan told her. "Tern Roarke's ship. Let's go." Juan propelled himself along the catwalk, moving at speed. Ree kicked off the railing, soon catching up with him. Emiko settled for a slower, safer pace, more or less walking.

As they approached the ship a hatch opened and a man come out. He was of average height, very handsome; his long black hair was pulled back in a pony tail. He wore casual clothing, dark colours.

"Tern," Juan said, smiling. "Good to see you again."

"Juan you bastard," Tern snapped. "Why did you have to send her?"

"What? Diane? I figured she'd be the best to find you. If I could have spared the time I would have come myself."

"Do you know for almost two days she has been sniffing around my ship, telling me next time she will get me?"

"I'm not surprised. She really doesn't like it when good lawyers keep you out of jail. I know your pain."

"Excuse me," Ree said from where she floated a few meters behind Juan.

"Sorry," Juan said. "Tern Roarke, this is Kareen Maxil. Kareen is our resident mecha expert."

"Call me Ree," she said, moving closer.

"Tern," Tern told her, extending his hand. "Why does your name sound familiar?"

"Last year I shot General London."

"I heard about that." Tern smiled at her. "You were treated fairly badly. At least that is what everyone was saying."

"I tend to agree with everyone in this matter," she said. "Is it true what they say about this ship and you?"

"No, of course not." He smiled and gave her a conspiratorial wink.

"Now that you have met," Juan said. "The last member of our group is slowly making her way here," Juan pointed to Emiko who was still moving along the catwalk. "Emiko Miya."

"The terrorist, or accused terrorist, I take it. Diane told me about her."

"Where is Marshal Vichy?"

"Here," Diane said from the open hatch. She kicked herself out, twisted around, and landed right beside Juan.

Juan watched it all and wondered if an environment existed that might make her look clumsy, a little less like a deadly predator. Somehow he doubted it. "Glad you made it."

"So now what," Diane asked.

"We wait for Emiko, make the final rounds of introductions, then we get down to business."

* * *

Emiko was impressed by the ship. From the outside it was all curving lines, with a flat black surface she felt she might fall into. The interior was beautiful, soft, thick carpeting, hard wood paneling and furniture, and spacious rooms.

They were seated around the dining table in the galley, or in some cases floating. Juan looked around at everyone.

"Okay, I think we all know what is happening, what is at stake. I'm sure you have a lot of questions, and I've prepared some notes," he removed several data bricks from his jacket and tossed them gently into the air. They floated across the table. "They'll answer a lot of the basic questions."

"What's our mission?" Diane asked as she grabbed two of the bricks from the air, handing one to Tern.

"We're going to Earth. This Gaian Circle wants a number of people dead. Emiko here kindly provided us with the list. We of course want them alive, mainly just because the circle wants them dead."

"Why us?" Ree asked.

"No reason. I'm sure that Grey's people will be more than able to handle this work; I think it will be a cake walk for the most part. It is a good mission for us to work together on. Wide margins for error, a chance to learn each other's strengths and weaknesses. After this mission I think things will get much harder. This is our learning mission."

"What will we be doing?" Tern asked.

"What we all do best."

"What's the time frame?" Diane asked.

"We should leave in a few hours if we want to meet our timings."

"Where are we going?" Tern asked.

"Free Fall first. Then where ever we have to."

"So you don't have much more information on the mission," Diane said.

"Not right now. We can make concrete plans once we know what we will be doing."

"I'm going to give these notes a read," Tern said. "There are three staterooms you can use; the Marshal has already claimed one."

"Me and Emi-chan will share," Ree said.

Emiko decided Ree made her very nervous.

"I'll be taking the ship out in an hour. I'll get us to Free Fall with plenty of time to spare," Tern said, floating out of the room.

"I'm not sure about him," Diane said to Juan. "He thinks life is a big joke. Things get hard he might just leave."

"Tern is in it for the fun, but mostly the thrill. He won't leave. He might complain a lot, but he will stay," Juan told her.

"I'm going to read your notes," Ree pushed herself away from the table. "I'll probably have questions later."

"So what do we do now?" Emiko asked him.

"Relax while we have the chance," he said.

* * *

Closing Credits Stay by Lisa Loeb

* * *

Music Selections

Kareen Maxil - Mary of the 4th Form - Boomtown Rats

Tern Roarke - Anything by the Beach Boys Really

* * *

**Sloop John B.**

Built: 2173-2179 Gravesend Shipyards

Number of Ships: 1

Length: 62 meters

Mass: 175.5 Tones

Crew: 1

Acceleration: 7.5

Armed with one laser turret.

22,995,000 credits

The Sloop John B. was commissioned by Tern Roarke in 2173 after he had received a large inheritance from his Grandmother. He wanted a ship that was very fast, could go anywhere, and was very comfortable. It took six years to build as he often halted work to wait for some new innovation to come along. Several times during the ships construction old work was torn out for something new to be put it.

Some people think that Tern used all of his inheritance to build the ship. Others say his Grandmother had much more money than that.

The ship uses a set of compact and very powerful thrusters. They easily provide enough thrust to lift the ship into orbit and no ship or mecha produced to date can match its speed. The entire system is vectored so not only is the Sloop John B. incredibly manoeuvrable but it is also capable of VTOL. Special modifications of the thrust system allow it to be used underwater, though it is only capable of a small part of its normal speed. It has won several races; not that starship racing is all that common.

The sensor system in the ship is one of the best to be found, as well as boasting an Advanced Sensor Package, a target analyzer and a military ECM/ECCM suite.

The ship is SHUNT capable and Tern maintains the drive himself.

The Sloop John B. only needs one pilot but the spacious cockpit has two crew stations allowing a second pilot to operate the ECM gear and fire the weapon.

The smooth, flat black surface is nearly invisible to all forms of detection and if the stories are to be believe has parked itself within only kilometres of ships searching for it and never been found. As to why ships search for it, it is said, though no proof has been produced, that Tern engages in smuggling operations.

There are a number of retractable hand and foot holds on the surface which allow the ship to carry up to three Mechs. This was a modification one of the shipwrights made after convincing Tern of its usefulness. To date the system has never been used.

It carries triple the amount of fuel ships of the same class carry.


	5. Episode 5

A Story of the Starblade Battalion

"No quarter asked, none given."

Episode 5 (2180.05.28)

By Shawn Hagen

Starblade Battalion is the Property of Games.

Opening Credits-Talking Heads, Life During War Time Version

Kenneth Stac had a lot going for him: A good job; a shelf full of journalism awards; a column that was just controversial enough to keep it being read; and a safe existence. It was all he had ever wanted. Well, maybe a lover who was a little more attractive, but who could fault him for that?

His rather expensive apartment had a balcony that overlooked Central Park. Or where Central Park had been before the entire city of New York had been flooded under four meters of water. That had happened when the polar caps had finally melted. It had been the best thing that had happened to the Big Apple in a very long time. After all, as someone had once said, if flooded cities were that bad, would Venice have gotten all the tourists?

All that was left of the park were a few areas of high ground, like islands. It was rather pretty he thought. He had seen pictures of the city from before the nuclear bomb had gone off. It was his opinion that the flooded New York was a much more attractive place then the so called 'Heyday' period New York.

The knock at his door shook him from his thoughts. He put his beer down on the balcony railing and turned around, going back into his apartment. It must be Phil, or maybe one of his neighbours, he thought. When he opened his door he found out it was neither.

Two men in dark suits. One with a face that was covered in what looked like acne scars. The Other was pretty forgettable.

"Yes?" Kenneth asked.

"Are you Mr. Stac?" the one of the right asked.

"Yes. May I ask who you are?"

"Detective Jones," the man said, flipping out a badge. "We'd like you to come down to the station with us."

"Why?"

"We have a warrant for your arrest," the other said, removing an eyes only pad which he handed to Kenneth.

"This must be some sort of mistake." He started wide eyed at the pad, at the warrant on it.

"We don't make mistakes. Everything will be cleared up at the station."

"I'd like to call my lawyer."

"You can at the station."

"You're blocking my datalink," Kenneth said.

"It is for your own protection. Please Mr. Stac."

"Let me get my coat," Kenneth said, walking into the apartment. The two police officers followed him in. He was not going to get a chance to use one of the hard lines.

He pulled on a light windbreaker then left his apartment, the two officers close to him at all times. He locked the door and then walked with them to the elevator.

"So, can you tell me what this is all about?" Kenneth asked as they entered the cab.

"When we get to the station," the man with the acne scars said as he pressed the button for the second floor.

"Wait, why the second floor? It is underwater."

"It is for your safety."

Kenneth said nothing more, wondering if this was some elaborate joke on his editor's part. Jane always told him that his anti Gaian stance was bound to get him in trouble one day. He had always said that she was paranoid.

The elevator doors opened on the second floor. The damp, mildewy smell hit him right away, and then there was the incessant drip of water. A lot of the buildings had had their lower floors sealed and pumped out, but no one used the space. No one wanted to.

He was escorted out of the cab, then down a hallway. The walls that were still there were made of concrete. The water had destroyed anything softer.

"This will do," one of the officers said as they came out into a large area.

"What?" Kenneth asked, turning around. The man with the acne scars had pulled out a pistol and was screwing a silencer on to it. "What is that for?"

"To kill you," he said, lifting up the pistol.

"Wait, no, what…"

He was cut off by the sound of a gunshot. It did not come from the pistol pointed at him. In fact that pistol was no longer pointed at him as the owner was falling over, a messy wound in his head. There was another gunshot and the other officer was collapsing to the ground.

Kenneth turned slowly towards where the sound had come from. A tall woman was pulling herself free of some concealing rubble. She held a rifle in her hands, he noted as she walked towards him. She spared a moment to look at the bodies of the officers, then looked back at him. "Mr. Stac, would you please come with me," she said.

"Who are you?" His voice was high, his words coming out fast.

"Marshall Vichy of the Pleiades," she told him.

"What?"

"Please come along Mr. Stac. There will be others." She looked down at the bodies, then turned around and walked back towards the elevator.

"They said they were police officers," Kenneth said, running after her to catch up. He did not know why he was following her, just that she seemed to know what was going on.

"Maybe they were, once."

"Why me?"

"Your government wants you dead," she told him.

"Are you saying the government was behind this? The USSA?" he asked, his tone coloured by disbelief. "If this is true do you know what kind of story it will make?"

"A very good one I suppose. I suppose there are those who are hoping for that," she told him, pressing the call button for the elevator.

"Who?"

"Later," she told him. "Now I have to get you out of here."

"But…"

"Quiet," she told him, "I got a message coming in.

* * *

What is it? Diane transmitted through her datalink.

"Marshall," Emiko's encrypted voice came over the comlink. "One of those officers got a message of a few seconds ago. Backup is on the way."

Damn, Diane thought, looking back the way they had come. One of them must have been augmented. Right, tell Tern that we are going with plan B.

"Roger," Emiko said.

"We might be in a little trouble," Diane told Kenneth as the elevator doors opened. "Come on," she stepped in and hit the button for the third floor.

Kenneth followed after her, not asking any more questions. She supposed he was more concerned with staying alive at the moment, which suited her fine. It would be too hard to try to explain everything to him were he to ask.

Diane pulled her long coat open and hid her rifle underneath it. She slid her right hand through the opening in her pocket and put it around the rifle's pistol grip. When the doors opened on the third floor the weapon was hidden.

Ken started towards the lobby doors but Diane grabbed his shoulder and directed him to the left. When they started hearing shouts of 'police' in the distance, they began to walk a little faster.

"Where are we going?" Kenneth asked.

"Out."

"But the back exit…"

"Will be watched," she told him. They exited into a small lounge area that had a large picture window. There were a few people in there, talking, enjoying the view. Diane swung her rifle out from under her coat and blew the window glass out into the canal.

The people in the room started to scream as Diane grabbed Kenneth's arm and ran him towards the window.

"Are we going to swim, cause..." Kenneth asked, and then stopped when a powerful looking speed boat drifted in front of them.

She leapt, pulling him along. She managed to keep her feet when they landed on the deck; he slid and fell.

"Get us out of here," Diane said.

"My pleasure," Tern told her, pushing the throttle right open, turning. Diane fell onto Kenneth at that point.

Up ahead of them two police boats began to move to block them off. Tern turned the wheel sharply to starboard, scrapping, literally, the boat between the police craft and a building. Then he was clear and free, making a run across the open expanse of water where the park had once been.

* * *

The maintenance closet was in no way special, except for its close proximity to the central computer room. Emiko had found it easy to splice into the system. She watched as data scrolled across her screen, and made slight changes to it, sending the backup units to where they would just miss Tern's boat.

"Emiko," Juan's voice came over her headphones.

"Yeah," she said softly.

"Pull out, you're done."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Now go."

"Right," Emiko told him, reaching up to pull her computer's leads from the splice points. She hid it in the cleaning cart, burying it under some trash. After taking a moment for a deep, calming breath she pulled her cap down low so the brim shaded her face.

No one paid any attention to a member of the janitorial staff making her way towards the recycling bins. No one thought about how close to the exit the bins were. She was invisible, just like Juan had said she would be. Look like you belong, wear the right clothes, no one will notice you.

* * *

Tern was smiling as he twisted the wheel back and forth. They were on what had once been Broadway, and still was in a way. Few of the theatres had survived though with stages and main floor seats flooded out. It was a busy stretch of water, a lot of tourist traffic on it. Threading through all the other boats took a lot of skill and he was glad of the vacations he had spent at Waikiki.

The police were trying, he gave them a lot of credit for that, but they were a little outclassed. The ten meter cigar boat he had was an old alcohol burner, its engine putting out a lot more power than then police electrics could. They did have him when it came to numbers though. There were always more of them.

"Helicopters," Diane yelled up to him.

"We still need some time. Can you distract them?"

"Can I distract them?" Diane mumbled, flipping open an armoured locker at the back of the boat and removing an old lever action rifle. Propping it up on the back of the boat she cocked the weapon and scanned for targets.

Nothing useful on the water, so that meant taking out the main problem. She shifted her aim upwards. She did not like shooting at aircraft. Too great a chance of something going wrong, of people being hurt. Most of the officers following them did not know the truth. They all thought they were after a group of terrorists and cop killers. She did not have much choice though.

It took her two shots to hurt the first helicopter's engine. The second took three. After that the remaining two were no longer flying so close. Diane turned around, put her back to the locker, and reloaded the rifle. She noticed Kenneth was staring at her.

"Who are you?" he asked.

She smiled. "Well Pilgrim," she used her often practiced drawl. "I'm the woman who's saving your life."

"Oh," he said, obviously wondering why she was talking funny.

Diane popped back up and fired on the boats pursuing them aiming at the waterline of the hulls.

Up front Tern decided they were just going to have to go faster. He pushed the throttle up and hoped that he had not gotten rusty.

The boat flew over the water, finding openings where there should have been none, or scraping the paint off other boats where there really were not. Tern took turns at speed, once smacking the aft of the boat up against the side of a buildings. One of those impacts put a small crack in the hull and they started taking on water.

He took another turn and they were out in the open, lots of space around them, little in the way of other traffic, but for the police boats.

"We're surrounded," Kenneth said, looking at all the boats closing on them.

"Get down," Diane snapped, pulling him to the damp deck of the boat.

Tern had let up on the throttle and was looking around, getting his bearings. He could hear a voice coming over a loudspeaker, ordering them to come to a stop and throw their weapons over board.

"Pretty exciting," he looked back over his shoulder at Diane.

"Shut up and drive."

Tern nodded as he pushed the throttle back up, turning sharply, almost capsizing the boat in the process. He was moving at full speed again, bouncing over the water, a group of police boats behind him, even more in front of him. The distance began to shrink, the boats ahead of him getting closer and closer. He could see that some of the officers losing their nerve as their boats broke off. Not all of them did. Several were still heading right for him, enough to keep it interesting.

He picked his target, a sleek job that looked like it might be an internal combustion monster like his. The distance shrank even more. He could make out the people on the boat he was charging. Some of them did not look happy about the driver's course.

He was almost on them when a Galliard swept down low, grasped the cigar boat on either side, and lifted it from the water. It passed over the other boat with only a few centimetres clearance.

Tern let out a 'whoop' of victory.

* * *

Inside the mech Ree adjusted her flight, hit her thrusters, and climbed rapidly. The thruster wash created several waves powerful enough to capsize a number of the police boats below her. She gently cradled Tern's cigar boat, climbing away from the city.

"I'm just this good," she said, smiling.

* * *

From his place on deck Kenneth looked up at the mecha above them, then at the city rapidly dwindling behind them. A moment later he fainted.

"Kind of easily upset isn't he?" Tern looked back at Diane.

"Rumour mill has it you wet your pants the first time you tried to land a mecha on a spinner," She said.

"Yeah, but at least I didn't faint."

* * *

Emiko was the last to show up at the old warehouse that they had made their temporary base. It was in the mountains, a deserted area, still partially contaminated for centuries of pollution. She pulled up on the motorcycle; shut it down before removing her helmet and the attached filter mask.

"How did it go?" she asked Tern who was sitting out front.

"Smooth as glass," he told her.

"Good," she got off the bike then walked towards the doors.

"You know, this is a dirty little planet you got here," he said.

"Why do you think we want to keep you from gutting the cluster," she told him, smiling.

"I think I'll be a little more lenient towards the next Gaians that decide to preach to me."

"Not too much I hope," Emiko said, walking through the doors.

There was a lot of activity going on in the warehouse. There were about twenty Ravagers there, organizing the show. There were three people from the assassination-list currently in the warehouse. There were supposed to be four but one team had not made it in time. She saw Juan and two of the Ravagers talking to the man they had just brought in. Juan would be telling him exactly what had happened, and what was going to happen. He had told Emiko that Kenneth Stac could be of great use to them. He knew how to write and he already had an understanding of the darker side of Gaian politics.

She noticed Ree up on a maintenance platform, working on the Galliard. Emiko walked over and then climbed up the platform.

"Ree-san, what are you doing?"

"Just working out a few bugs in my pal," she said.

"But we are leaving it behind."

"So," she turned to look at Emiko.

"Well, it just seems odd."

"Emi-chan, what can I say. I love these stupid suits. I can't get enough of them. Come on, give me a hand. I'll give you a basic lesson in preventive maintenance."

Emiko pulled herself up on the platform and moved in beside Ree. For almost two hours Ree taught her a little of mecha maintenance, how to do all the minor little repairs and checks. Emiko enjoyed herself. It was interesting and Ree was very passionate about the subject matter.

"Ready to go?" Diane called up from the floor.

"Yeah," Ree said, sounding a bit down as she closed up the last maintenance hatch. "Well, those are some of the basics Emi-chan."

"Thank you for the lesson," Emiko said, bowing.

"No problem. We'll get you a datalink soon and I'll show you how to fly them."

Emiko stiffened when Ree said that and took a step back; dangerous on the platform.

Ree reached out and grabbed Emiko's arm to steady her. "I was only joking Emi-chan. Sorry."

"It's all right," Emiko said. She waited until Ree had let her go and then turned around to climb down the ladder.

"Where are you going now?" one of the Ravagers asked Juan.

"San Francisco," Juan told her. "Got a target to scoop up."

"Not many of them left now," she said.

"So we'll be finished soon."

"You're a good bunch to work with. That Marshall looks like she is thinking of shooting all of us half the time, but other than that, it's been fun."

"Take care," he told her.

"You to," she flashed him a smile then headed towards one of the trucks. Juan turned around and walked towards the large helicopter.

"Who are we today?" he asked Emiko as he climbed into the helicopter's passenger compartment.

"Gaian Special Investigations Team," she said, not looking up from her computer.

"Have I told you that I love you?"

"Sukebe jijii," she said, calling him a dirty old man.

* * *

The planet of Telluria had not been an easily colonized world. It wasn't the thin atmosphere that had been the problem. It was the dinosaurs. Or pseudo dinosaurus telluria, as the scientist had called them. Huge monsters, the largest easily capable of taking on a mech, and even winning.

It had taken a lot of work, a number of battles to test it, finally a sonic generator system had been developed. A system, that played on the Tellursaur's hearing, causing them non-damaging pain. That had finally opened the world.

Even so, the colonists often looked out into the jungle and felt a little insecure. Huge beasts, some thirty meters long, were out there, held back only by the generators.

Still, the fences worked well enough that the fear was a far off thing. And if there was an occasional fence failure, it was often dealt with by a well armed citizen in a roadstriker—the small mech being a very popular item on the planet.

A young woman, her black hair in a braid, except for the bangs that hung down over her forehead, approached the main power station of the city of Kroft. She had been in the city for more than a week, quietly doing her work.

Before the Nemyss had come into her life, before he had shown her the way, she had been an SAC commando: The few, the proud, the completely deniable. She had been good at her job; one of the best. Now she was completing one last mission, for ideals higher than those she had followed at the USSA's bidding.

She walked up the stairs, attracting no attention. She walked past the reception desk, through the security scanners, past the offices, even past the guards—who where the only ones who took any special notice of her and were satisfied by the ID she showed them—into the main generator station.

Brushing her bangs back from her forehead, she looked around until she spotted one of the security cameras. Staring right into that cold eye she reached into her jacket, removed the detonator, and pressed the button.

Almost ten kilograms of military grade explosive, covered by shielding clothing, went off, killing her, killing everyone in the area and destroying the generator, setting up several secondary explosions.

At the same time a number of other explosives, many of those fire bombs, went off. Everything had been placed to ensure maximum disorder. There were fires, power outages, many, many wounded and too many dead.

No one thought about the sonic perimeter with everything else that was going on. No one thought there was need. The emergency power stations were still up, the instrumentation showed the perimeter units still broadcasting. Everything seemed as it should be. It was not until the first Tellursaurs showed up nearly three hours later that the problem was realized.

At that point there was little to do but evacuate the citizens to safe areas as the militia went in with their mecha to clear the animals out.

There had been many deaths by that time.

* * *

It was a comfortable room in a fair sized house in the Silicon Valley Geofront. The huge cavern was not a natural like the Tokyo Geofront. It had been artificially excavated from the mountains. Unlike the Tokyo Geofront there were no buildings on the ceiling as it would not support their weight. Still, there were enough similarities between it and Tokyo to make Emiko homesick.

"Emiko," Juan called. "We're ready to begin the briefing."

"Sorry," Emiko said, moving away from the window and taking a seat at the dining table.

"All right, let's begin." He pressed a button on a remote, causing the windows to darken. "This is our target, Tess Belin." A picture of a woman, average appearance, brown hair to her shoulders, brown eyes, appeared on the screen on the far wall.

"Who is she?" Diane asked.

"Member of Team Buckaroo, one of Bahn/Zai's more colourful teams. Records say she is a fair designer but plays a very good guitar and sings like and angel."

"So?" Tern asked.

"One of the reasons she is on the team is her musical talent. Probably one of the reasons the inner circle is willing to kill her to get to her boyfriend, Carter Jones."

"How long till they go after her?" Diane asked.

"I'd say soon. The inner circle is beginning to get a little desperate, what with all their targets being snatched on them. They are bound to go after the remaining ones that much harder. Between that and that this entire area is high security, I expect this mission will be a little tougher than the others."

"So what's the plan?" Ree asked.

"More or less the same as before. I've already got you, the Marshall and Emiko the passes you need to get into the labs Buckaroo uses. Emiko will handle computer monitoring; there are several places where you can tie into the security network," Juan told Emiko. "Pick one and I'll get you in. The Marshall will be keeping a close tail on Tess, ready to move in when assassins make their move. Ree, you will be doing back up, but when we leave we might need some support."

"Where am I supposed to get the ride?"

"There are about thirty suits on display in those labs, kind of a show around deal if the brass comes. I'm sure you can find one to your liking."

"Up to hacking me the codes?" Ree looked at Emiko.

"If I must," Emiko said, sounding put upon.

Ree smiled and grabbed Emiko in a headlock, digging her middle knuckle into the top of Emiko's head. "You must," she said.

"Don't hurt her brain," Juan said. "We need it.

"Thanks for the help," Emiko said, freeing herself of Ree's hold.

"What about me?" Tern asked.

"Once we finish this job we are moving. You'll bring your ship in, get us all out."

"What, into the geofront? I can do it of course, but still…"

"There is a landing field that connects to the labs and testing area. You will be able to bring your ship down there."

"So once I save this woman I bring her to the labs?" Diane asked.

"Yes."

"And I run interference if the security reacts faster then we expect?" Ree said.

"That's the plan."

"Sounds good." Diane nodded.

"Then let's get down to the details," Juan told them.

Emiko sat at the table, taking a few notes, asking questions when she had to. For the most part the meeting was more of a formality. In the time they had worked together they had come to function as a team. They had learned that they could trust each other. While the mission was certainly tough, it was nothing that they could not do.

She looked over at Ree. Ree, other than the fact she still liked teasing Emiko every chance she got, had become Emiko's best friend. She was smart, tough, and a lot of fun. While her recent background sometimes made Emiko a little uncomfortable, she was impressed by the way Ree handled it. It was just something in her past, not something she was proud of, but neither was she ashamed about it. It was just a job she had done for a while.

Tern was an interesting one. She had found out he was very wealthy, came from a wealthy family. He was a thrill seeker, pure and simple. He did not care how hard it got, just as long as it remained challenging. Emiko often felt that he cared more about the danger stopping the war represented rather than saving the people who would otherwise die in it. Still, for all that, she liked him. He was brave, a little crazy and fun to be around.

Diane on the other hand was not quite so fun. She held herself to a strict code of ethics, though she did not expect others to live up to similar ones. Emiko had realized that she had her reasons for her behaviour. Policing the Pleiades' outback was no easy task. The Marshals were something special and according to Juan she was special among Marshals. Diane's main problems with Juan and Tern seemed to revolve around the fact they broke the law without really caring about it and with no real need.

For all the time she had spent with Juan, she still did not quite understand him. He just always knew what was going on, had an incredible grasp of tactics, and kept them together when Emiko thought internal pressures might throw them apart. All she really knew was that she liked him.

She looked around the table as she listened to the briefing and realized that the first time since she had had to run from Tokyo, that she felt a part of something. While it made her feel good it also made her worried. Any of them could be taken away so suddenly. Things had already come very close on one mission.

She cleared her head of such thoughts and turned her attention to the briefing. It was not a time for her to be daydreaming.

* * *

Ree walked along the corridors of the nearly deserted Bahn/Zai labs. Juan and Emiko had arranged a security guard job for her. It gave her nearly full access to the building. Anywhere she could not get to was not somewhere she needed to go anyway.

She nodded to a group of technicians in the hall. There were always a few people staying late, finishing up work, or just not wanting to leave it. The war had everyone one on a bit of an edge. Bahn/Zai's people were just working that much harder for it.

Several minutes later she unlocked a door and stepped into the small storage room. Emiko looked over her shoulder, one hand hidden in the cleaning cart she was standing by.

"Relax," Ree said. "Everything is fine."

Emiko nodded and took her hand from the cart, leaving her pistol hidden.

"I found the one I want."

"Which one?" Emiko asked, pushing the cart away from the small desk she had set up. A rather powerful computer system was resting on it. Being in Silicon Valley obviously had a number of bonuses.

"Unit D5, east hangar," Ree said, excitement in her voice.

"D5," Emiko said, entering the information. "Whoa," she suddenly began to type much faster.

"What?"

"Thanks for mentioning it was marked high security," Emiko said. " Almost got a trace on me." She shook her head. "All right, Manticore test platform, MM-8Btest-HA." She looked over her shoulder at Ree. "You want this one?"

"Come on Emi-chan, I thought you were good."

"It is not a matter of being good. Even if I get the codes there is bound to be more security."

"The basic set up that they use is a code to get in, and another to activate battery power. After that everything is locked up until the pilot undergoes a retinal scan."

"I'd have to get in to the suit to get by a retinal scanner."

"You don't have to. There is a third code, emergency access type of deal. You enter it and then you can load a new retinal pattern into the computer."

"How do you know all this?"

"I was talking to one of the test pilots. I batted my lashes at him, told him how brave he must be and explained how I was worried about some unit being stolen while I was on duty. A few kisses and a hickey later he had given me the basics. The rest I filled in from my own experience."

"So you don't know for sure if the set up is as you said?"

"Well, if you find three access codes for the unit they we will know that I am right. I got to get back to my rounds. Good luck Emi-chan."

"Wait, this could take all night."

"And I'll be ever so grateful," Ree told her, leaving the room. The door closed and locked behind her. She waited a moment, listening outside the door, heard Emiko mocking her from within. She smiled as she set off. Emiko was a lot of fun.

* * *

"How's it going?" Juan asked, taking a seat beside Diane. The restaurant was busy, full of the after-hours crowd. No one paid the two of them any particular attention.

"Our girl has picked up a tail."

"Soon?"

"Probably. More bad news."

"What?"

"The tail has surveillance."

"So they are getting wise."

"Had to happen." Diane took a drink of her coffee. "They want her taken care of as well as whoever has been snatching their prizes."

"Think we need to change the plan?"

"No, but they will be alert after we grab her. There is no way we walk away from this one without a bit of a dust up."

"Like you said, had to happen."

"I'm worried about Emiko-kun. She's untested."

"She won't fold."

"She might get killed. She is a rank amateur. The rest of us have been in our fair share of fights, some of us more than our fair share. She's green."

"But she has," Juan smiled and tapped his hand on the table, "what would you say?"

"True grit." Diane smiled as well. "Be that as it may, there might not be anyone close enough to pull her out of the snake pit."

"Well, yes," Juan said, now lost to the movie references that Diane sometimes used. "Don't worry about her. She'll come through."

"You're awfully confident about this kid."

"I have to be, don't I?"

"If she gets killed I am almost sure that I can charge you with some kind of manslaughter."

"War time, you'd never get it to hold."

"That's ultimately why I don't like you," she said, getting to feet, heading out of the restaurant.

* * *

Juan watched her go. Diane was a hard case. She was lightening up a little though. She had just stuck him with the bill after all.

Emiko stumbled into the house, half asleep. She walked into the living room, placed her briefcase gently on the floor, and then flopped forward onto the couch. A moment later she was asleep.

Juan watched it all from his seat by the window. He took a drink of his coffee and wondered what she had been up to all night.

A few minutes later Ree came in, looking quite well. She took a seat across from Juan and deftly removed the still half full cup of coffee from his hands and took a drink. "This stuff is horrible. Who taught you to make coffee?" she asked.

"My mother. I improved on the basic recipe during university."

"It's sludge."

"But potent sludge."

"How long has she been in for?" Ree looked over at Emiko.

"Five minutes."

"She looks really tired."

"That's what I thought."

"Too bad," Ree handed the cup back to Juan, stood up, and walked over to Emiko. "Emi-chan," she said, leaning close to the girl. "Time for school. Wake up."

Emiko mumbled something but did not wake.

Ree looked at her for a moment then gave her a yank, pulling her off the couch, stepping away at the same time, dropping into a nearby chair.

Emiko woke right after hitting the floor. She was still a little out of it and got to her knees, looking around. "What happened?" she mumbled in Japanese.

"You rolled off the couch. Did you have a bad dream?" Ree asked, her voice full of concern and her bearing innocent.

"I guess," Emiko said after a moment.

"So, did you get them for me?" Ree asked, getting out of her chair to kneel in front of Emiko.

"I got them," Emiko said, obviously wanting to go back to sleep. Juan thought she looked exhausted and figured she had been a long time hacking.

"Show me," Ree said, obviously not concerned for Emiko's exhaustion. She could be a cruel woman, Juan thought, taking another drink of his sludge.

Emiko sighed and turned around, pulling her briefcase over, putting it in between them. "The last code was the hardest to find. For a time I thought it might not exist," she told Ree as opened the briefcase and turned the computer on. "It was hidden in a special security measures file."

"Sounds good."

"These are the codes." She yawned then turned the screen to face Ree. "It is everything you wanted."

"I could kiss you," Ree said, looking at the screen. "In fact, I think I will," she moved forward, pushing Emiko over, pinning her to the ground.

"No, get away," Emiko protested, trying to force the woman off her.

Juan watched for a moment then picked up his coffee cup and headed into the kitchen.

"I'll give you your first hickey," was the last thing Juan heard from Ree a moment before the kitchen door closed.

* * *

Tess Belin packed away her guitar as the club lights went off. She took more care of the instrument than was actually needed, but then again, it was an authentic Fender from the 20th century. As she saw it the excessive care was just what the instrument deserved.

"Tess, want a ride home?" one of the bartenders called to her, like he always did.

"No, I'm all right," Tess answered back, like she always did.

"Have a good night then," he said.

Tess nodded and picked up the case, heading for the door. She felt dead tired. The three encores had been a mistake. Tomorrow they were testing some upgrades to the Manticore and she was expected to be there, bright eyed and bushy tailed, figuratively, with the rest of the team when the HA mecha suit was shown off to some brass.

All things considered she would rather sleep in and dream about tall, hunky movie stars. Of course that went without saying.

Yawning, she left the bar and turned to her right. She could go home but she felt she would ultimately be better off if she just crashed in her lab. There was a very comfortable couch there, the shower room close by and she had a change of clothes in her office. What more did she need?

The walk was a long one, but she decided that she would not take a cab. She had drunk a lot near the end and the fresh air would help to clear her head. As she walked she hummed, then began to sing softly. No real words, just a string of sounds that were pleasant to her.

She was feeling good—the fresh air had chased away some of her tiredness; she was thinking of a new song; she had realized if she sat in the back it was likely no one would notice her sleeping the next day—when the two people stepped out in front of her.

Tess was not exactly worried. There were a lot of places that one had to worry about walking alone late at night, but Silicon Valley was not one of them. Not really. Still, it always paid to be a little careful. She was about to turn down a side street and start running when one of them called her.

"Miss Belin, we're with the police. We have to talk to you."

Tess looked at them, and then began to walk towards them. As she got close she saw one was holding out a badge. She relaxed slightly. "What is it?"

"We need to talk to you. It's about your job," the other one, a woman, said.

"Oh?"

"Please," the woman indicated the alley they had stepped out of. "It is more private."

"Then why not down at the station, or at my office?" she asked.

"Hell," the woman said, going into her coat, pulling out a pistol.

Tess did not have much warning, but she took what little she had and threw the guitar case in front of her, much like a shield and began moving backwards.

The case bucked in her hands as several rounds tore into it. Already off balance, she ended up falling over. She was about to scream when she heard a series of quiet, rapid shots, then nothing.

"Miss Belin," she heard a voice come from behind her. "I think we should leave."

Tess tilted her head back and saw a woman standing behind her. She was holding a pistol in each hand, looking down at her. "Who are you?"

"Marshall Diane Vichy of the Pleiades."

Tess stared up at her, wondering just what she had gotten herself into.

Diane came forward, putting one of her pistols away into her jacket. She offered her free hand to Tess. Tess reached up and took it, letting the woman pull her to her feet.

"Let's go," Diane said. "I can't explain now." She set off and did not look back to see if Tess was following. Tess looked at the two bodies and then quickly ran after Diane.

"What is going on here?" Tess demanded.

"Part of the Gaian government wants you dead to send a message to your boyfriend."

Tess was about to say that she did not believe it when she remembered what Carter had told her, that he felt he was being pressured by some higher ups to take a posting elsewhere. "Are you really from the Pleiades?"

"Yes," Diane said, looking around, heading off down a side street.

"Then why are you here?"

"If they want you dead, we want you alive."

"Solingen?"

"No. I am not part of the ODF."

"Then why…." Tess stopped; in the distance she heard sirens. She looked back towards Diane and noticed she was running. After a moment Tess was running after her.

They took a roundabout path that eventually led them to where Tess had apparently been planning on going.

"The lab?" Tess asked between deep breaths.

"Yes." Diane said. She was not breathing hard at all.

"Listen. This is too crazy. Thank you for saving me, but I have friends here. They can help me."

Diane looked at her for a moment, then turned and walked away. "Your choice," she said.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

Diane did not answer and was soon lost in the darkness.

Tess shook her head, then turned and ran towards one of the doors the led into the lab. As always there was a guard there. She recognized him and felt better immediately. Whatever was going on, she'd soon have it cleared up.

"Karl," she called out.

The man in the booth turned to look at her. His eyes widened and he pulled out his pistol, bringing it up to point at her. "Freeze," he shouted out.

Tess stopped so fast that she almost fell over. "Karl, it's me."

"Don't move," he said.

"But Karl," she took a step forward, wondering if he could see her properly.

"I suggest you put the pistol down," Tess heard the Marshall say from behind her.

Karl kept his weapon pointed at Tess. Diane fired three times, putting a tight grouping into the glass of the booth very close to Karl. Karl put his pistol down.

"Smart," Diane said, then shot him with another pistol. Karl looked at the small tuft of red sticking out of his arm, then fell over.

"What is happening!?" Tess demanded.

"They've put your picture all over the place. You're wanted for several murders, suspected Midnight Sun involvement," Diane told her.

"That's impossible."

"No, it's just getting tired. I'll show you," she walked past Tess towards the security booth.

Tess watched her for a moment, and then followed. When Diane got to the booth she reached in and opened the door. She looked at the guard lying on the ground, unconscious. She knelt down to check his pulse then got back up. "Here, take a look at this," she said to Tess.

Tess looked at what Diane was pointing at. It was the security monitor. On it was a picture of her. Text scrolling across the bottom identified her as a terrorist. "I don't believe it."

"He's datalinked for some backup. Let's go," Diane said, walking into the lab building. Tess took one more look at the monitor before following her.

Things had changed over the last hour. She suddenly was not sure of anything. She looked down at the guitar case she was still carrying. Shaking her head, she dropped it. The bullets had probably messed it up beyond repair anyway.

* * *

Tern liked contour flying. Nap of the earth, high speed, it was a great ride. Of course doing it in a helicopter was a lot easier than doing it in a sixty meter space craft. That just made it more fun though.

He was keeping his speed just below sound, not wanting to shake anyone up with sonic booms. It wouldn't do to announce his presence prematurely. He had tagged a few warning alarms, laser fences and the like that his ship's stealth set up just could not completely beat. He was not worried about that. The techs would tag it as a computer anomaly without anything else to back it up. He had played the game before.

He looked at the map board and nodded. Ten minutes to landing area. Once he got there all bets were off and everything depended on everyone else. He did not mind that. He had come to trust them all. They would not let him down.

* * *

Ree dropped into the combat cockpit. She made it a habit to stay out of the head cockpits. They were just a big target and other than serving as an escape pod, she saw no point in them. After pulling on the four point restraint harness she reached down and entered the second code that Emiko had gotten for her. The instrumentation flashed to life as limited battery power came on line. The retinal scanner swung down.

Ree nodded, then tapped in the third code that Emiko had supplied her. The full computer system came on. She was directed to insert the key disk into the drive. Ree smiled as looked around the cockpit, finally finding what she wanted. Moving a small screen to the side revealed a second drive.

It was a very nice set up, she thought, pushing the disk with her retinal pattern into place, but she had seen similar in the past. That was the reason she knew how to get around it.

She waited until the computer had digested the data, then she placed her eye against the retinal scanner. There was a breathless moment as nothing happened before the fusion generator came on line and everything lit up.

"Okay," she said to herself, grasping the controls, synching with the big mech. "Let's see if all the hype has any basis."

* * *

Emiko stepped out of Silicon Valley's main police building. Juan pulled up in a red mini. She got in and he drove away.

"Everything go as planned?" he asked her.

"More or less. I couldn't keep this quiet. They are getting ready to shut this place down. Someone high up is making a lot of noise."

"Couldn't be helped," he told her.

"Now where?"

"To the landing field. Tern should be there in about five minutes."

"Cutting it close."

"That's the way we have to do it."

"We're not out of it yet are we?"

"We're not out of it until we are back in the Pleiades. Maybe not even then."

Emiko nodded.

* * *

Bahn/Zai-Silicon Valley had built a landing field in a small valley, directly connected to their labs. It wasn't particularly big, but if was more than sufficient for their mecha. The walls that surrounded it, and the short space made it really only accessible to VTOL craft. Fortunately the Sloop John B. was VTOL.

It came in low, almost brushing the tree tops, and then dropped straight into the valley. The powerful vectored thrust engines kicked up a huge amount of dirt and uprooted some small trees as it came down.

Tower control was used to odd things happening-with the work done in the labs they had to be—so the first thing they did was to check the computer to see if the ship was actually supposed to be there.

Tern was not too worried about what the people in the control tower were thinking. He ignored their demands that he identify himself and dropped his ship on to the field. Right on time, he thought, looking at the clock on his instrument panel. Now if everyone else would show up he could leave.

Tower control must have finally decided that he did not belong because they were making threatening noises. He continued to ignore them and looked over his monitors, hoping that he would not have a long wait. He saw a red mini come speeding along one of the outer roads that led to the field. He watched as the driver shot across the concrete, making straight for the ship. The car skidded to a stop near one of the landing struts.

He waited until he had identified Juan before opening the closest hatch.

you ready Diane transmitted over her datalink.

"I'm always ready," he said.

better be, we're coming to you

Tern caught sight of the two women running across the landing field. Everything looked good he thought. Juan and Emiko were in the ship, probably soon to be in the cockpit, Diane and their target were on their way, and he assumed Ree would show up soon as well. It was then that the two Galliards appeared.

"Damn," Tern swore, putting his hand on the controls for his ship's only weapon. If they started to fire his chances were not good. He had built the ship to run away from fights, not to stay around in them.

"Unidentified craft," someone from the tower called. "Shut down your engines and exit the craft. You have one minute to comply before you will be fired up."

Tern looked at the two mechs. They had their rifles pointed directly at his ship. Not good. If he hit his ECM and pushed the engines to the maximum output he might get clear, but he would be leaving Diane, Ree and the Belin woman behind.

He was on the cusp of a difficult decision when part of the canyon wall was blown out. That was followed up by one of the Galliards going down a moment later. When the dust settled he saw a new mech had joined them.

* * *

Ree watched as the Galliard across from her went over, its lower body blasted away at the waist. Scratch one, she thought, shifting the huge gauss cannon over the second one.

The Manticore was handling surprisingly well for such a big unit. It was very agile. She was quite pleased with it.

The Galliard moved quickly firing at her. She moved to the side, the verniers in the thrust pack unit giving her the manoeuvrability to pull it off. She fired, spraying the area with the heavy, high velocity rounds. Her first burst took the Galliard's right leg off; the second blew the head off.

"Ree," she heard over her radio. "Stop showing off and get in here," Juan ordered.

"I'm coming," Ree said, running the Manticore over towards the ship.

"Hurry up." That was Tern's voice. "They got more mechs coming. We don't have time."

"Just let me get out of this thing," Ree said, closing on the ship.

"No time," Tern told her. "Everyone else is on. We're going."

"Wait!" Ree yelled, seeing the ship lift off from the field.

"Grab on," Tern told her. "I'm popping the hand holds."

Ree watched as sections of the ship's hull folded outwards, becoming what looked like HA docking gear. She smiled as she hit the suit's thrusters, taking to the air just long enough to grab onto the holds and lock her suit's hands into place.

The Sloop John B. suddenly rose out of the valley, and then it turned, the nose pointing into the air. A moment later there was a roar as the engines went to their maximum output. The concrete below was actually cracked by the force of the blast. Then the ship was gone.

* * *

"What do you mean a spacecraft just blasted off from your landing field," the woman from Metro Command asked. "We have nothing on the radar."

"I'm telling you," a panicked voice told her. "They just left not more than twenty seconds ago. The ship was about sixty meters long and must have hit at least mach 4!"

"We have anything on radar like that?" she looked at one of her techs.

"No, there is something though. It's hard to tell much about it, might just be an anomaly, but it is moving fast."

"How fast?"

"Fast. Like escape velocity fast."

"Could it be a mecha?" she looked at the tech.

"I suppose, maybe."

She knew few suits that could produce that much thrust, actually there was only one and that was a Midnight Sun unit. "Find someone close by and order them to check that out."

"Yes ma'am," the tech said.

* * *

"We have a slight problem," Tern said, grunting due to the Gs the ship was pulling.

"What?" Juan asked, also grunting.

"I got a suit that weighs close to half of what this ship does clinging to the hull. The engines can't produce enough thrust to get us into orbit."

"Ree," Juan called. "You hear that?"

"I'm listening. I got an idea. Tern, this might get a bit rough."

"What…" Tern started to ask before his ship suddenly lurched to the side. He barely kept the ship from going into a spin. "Stop moving around," he shouted.

"Just give me a second; I have to get the foot free."

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked as the ship lurched again. From behind him he heard the sound of someone being sick. That has to be unpleasant he thought.

"Impromptu booster rocket," she said.

"Wait, you can't be serious."

"Lighting them up."

"Oh shit," Tern said, getting ready for the wild behaviour he knew the ship was about to display. He was not, as it were, disappointed. The HA was putting out plenty of thrust, it was just not centered. He managed to keep the ship under control, using the ship's thrusters to offset the unbalanced thrust of the HA. "No one is going to believe this."

Tern watched the monitors, expecting something the go wrong, for the hand holds to be ripped out of the hull, for the thrusters to fail, or something else. It did not though. In the end it was incredibly close, but they managed to reach escape velocity.

"We made it," Tern said, he did not sound as if he believed it.

"Ree, you okay?" Juan asked.

"A bit bruised, but fine. I'm surprised this beast made it."

"You shouldn't be," from behind them Tess called out, sounding insufferably proud. "We built that suit to take a beating."

"My compliments," Ree told her.

"I'm going back to throw this out," Emiko said, an airsickness bag in her hands.

"What is this all about?" Tess asked.

"Give us a couple of minutes," Juan told her. "Tern, get us out of here."

"Free fall?"

"Take the back roads."

"I know the back roads. Hey, Ree, you coming in?"

"I don't have a vac suit in here."

"We'll figure something out soon enough. Tern time to go."

"Right," he said, grasping the controls.

"Miss Belin, if you would come with me, we have things to talk about," Juan said, getting out of his chair.

"We certainly do," she said sharply.

* * *

No one on Earth or in the orbital stations were quite sure what had happened. They did know a ship had landed in a secure area, picked up a fugitive, and then blasted into space. The ship was both fast and nearly invisible. Tracking stations had something on their screens but it was too small to be the ship. It was something though and units were sent to intercept.

* * *

Tess stared across the table at Juan. "You're serious," she said.

"Very."

"Okay, that someone wants me dead; I can accept that, I really have no choice. That it is the USSA and they are doing it to send a message to Carter, yeah, that too. That you want to stop this war," she shook her head, "that is way too out there."

"How about this then. We are interested in getting rid of those members of the USSA ruling class who basically signed your death warrant. Want in?"

She shook her head. "I can't deal with this right now. I need some time to think about it."

"You have about a day before we leave Earth Space. You can wait longer at Free Fall but someone will eventually want an answer of one sort or another."

"Hey, Juan," Diane called as she sailed into the galley, grabbing a handhold to stop her flight, "Tern wants to see you. We got trouble."

"If you'll excuse me Miss Belin," he said, then pushed himself out of the chair and kicked off towards the cockpit.

Tess watched him go and sighed. She almost believed him and truth be told she was not very thrilled with the war either.

"What is it Tern?" Juan asked, slipping into the co-pilots seat.

"Company." He pointed to one of the screens. "That's a cruiser out in front of us. Then there are two battle riders coming up on our three, one right on top of the other so they look like one. These are a couple of fighters off at our four. Coming in on our six is another cruiser. And from twelve high are four Zephyrs coming in fast."

"I thought we were invisible."

Tern indicated the ceiling with his thumb. "That big monster of a mech is not stealthed up like the ship."

"ECM?"

"Jammed their spotting radar as soon as I realized what was going on, but they know basically where I am right now."

Juan looked at the screen then turned the com on. "Ree, how you doing?" he asked.

"Fine, though I am thinking that some sort of basic sanitary system in mechas would be of use."

"Cross your legs."

"I'll remember that."

"We got a problem."

"Shoot."

"Bunch of unfriendlies closing in on us. They are going to close us in a net, but I see a way out."

"You do?" Tern asked.

"Think you are up to handling four Zephyrs?" he asked her, ignoring Tern.

"Those are the fast jackrabbits aren't they? Four?" She went silent. "Yeah, what the hell, be a cake walk."

"Good. Okay Tern, head right at them. Ree, we'll drop you off when we close into a range of, let's say, twenty kilometres. You got about six minutes to deal with them."

"If I don't?"

"We'll try to pick you up and then run."

"Wonderful."

"You'll be cutting it awfully close," Tern said. "If we don't clear out of their fast enough the other incoming ships will be able to compensate we'll be back in the same situation of being hemmed in on all sides."

"I know. Lot of this is riding on you Ree."

"Hey, I'm the best pilot there is. This suit handles all right for such a big monster. They are going down."

"Good luck Ree."

"I don't need luck," she told him, her confidence coming clearly across.

"I'll wish you it anyway."

* * *

Ree undid the four point harness then twisted around, undoing the shoelace from her boot. She reached around to tie her hair into a ponytail with the lace. She was going into combat, no skinsuit, no vac-suit, no real protection at all. The Manticore could operate in space, and it would take a bit to expose the cockpit to vacuum, but anything was possible. Ree pulled the harness back on and locked it up; giving it a good yank to be sure it would hold her in her seat.

She put her hands on the controls, waited, watching the timer could down. When it finally hit zero she cut loose. The Zephyrs would pick her up on their sensors now that she was clear if the ship. They would be making directly towards her. She smiled and opened the engines up. It was good to be back in her environment.

"To the pilot of that Manticore, we know you have stolen it," one of the other pilots, a woman, sent over the radio. "Shut it down or you will be destroyed."

"No quarter asked," Ree said, heading right at the tight formation of mechs, "none given."

The Zephyrs opened fire almost immediately. Ree jerked at the controls, sending the big HA mech into a corkscrew, avoiding their fire. The suit was much more manoeuvrable then she would have expected. It was more manoeuvrable than a lot of other suits she had flown. They had obviously done something to the test model.

The other suits had broken out of their tight formation, getting ready to surround her. Good choice, she thought, choosing her target. She could beat that strategy.

She closed on one of the suits, keeping it in her sites. She wondered what the pilot in that suit was thinking. Probably thought she was suicidal. Keep thinking that, Ree thought, pushing the thrusters for what little more they had left.

A moment before she would have slammed into the other suit, she flipped her mech around the other, reversing its facing, using the thrusters to rapidly brake. She grabbed the other suit about the shoulders, yanking it off course as she pulled it in front of her; like a shield. She kept one arm around the smaller mechs upper body, freeing up the other arm. All right, Ree thought, drawing the Manticore's rail pistol, let's see if you can handle a hostage crisis. She took aim at closest of the Zephyrs and began to fire.

To the other pilot's credit she, or he, made their suit very hard to hit. Ree dealt with it by aiming with more care. The tracer ammunition made everything so much easier and she watched as the Zephyr was knocked back, pieces of its armour blown off, electrical discharges arching across the frame.

Deciding she would not see any threat from that quarter for a short time she shifted her attention to the other targets. The two other Zephyrs had circled back and were coming at her in a tight grouping. Stupid, Ree thought, twisting around, putting the struggling suit between her and both of the incoming units. She fired at them, more to keep them on their toes than in any hope of hitting. She received a pleasant surprise as one of them moved a bit too slow and was actually clipped by one of her bursts.

They would be getting smart now, Ree decided. Break off and come in from different directions, get one behind her. That was okay, she planned to change tactics. Driving the gauss pistol into the back of the other suit, she pulled the trigger and held it down.

She pushed away from the suit a second before the power plant went up. Even a 'cool' fusion system had its limits. The explosion masked her suit for a few seconds.

She rode out the force of the explosion, trusting the Manticore's heavy armour to keep her safe. As her suit was moving backwards the huge gauss cannon swung over its shoulder, locking into the torso mount. Ree gripped the weapon in the mech's huge hands. She flipped off the safety and kicked in the thrusters, heading back the way she had come, flying through the debris of what had once been another HA.

She took one of the Zephyrs by surprise, coming out right on top of it. Swinging the cannon around, she caressed the trigger. The huge rounds cut the other HA in half, leaving it floating dead in space.

Quick assessment, the Zephyr she had hit with the gauss pistol was back, coming at her fast, the last, undamaged suit was coming around at full speed, back towards the battle.

Yanking on the controls she spun back, avoiding the damaged Zephyrs' fire. Only steadying her suit enough so she could shoot, Ree took it out, the rounds tearing into the chest armour, blowing one of the arms off. She was already moving to engage the last of the enemy before the suit exploded.

The last pilot was good, or maybe just lucky. The last Zephyr was on her tail, firing at her. Ree bounced the Manticore around, making the suit a harder target to hit. When it became clear that she was not going to be able to break the tail—the Zephyr was faster and a little more agile then her Manticore—Ree kicked in the verniers and spun the HA one hundred and eighty degrees.

The other pilot tired to climb out of her arc of fire, with limited success. Ree blew the suit's right leg off at the hip. The other suit went cart wheeling off, obviously out of control.

The Manticore swung about, the cannon swinging up, returning to the storage position. She looked at her watch. A little over two minutes for the entire fight. Tern and Juan would be happy about that. Her sensors were clear, though she knew the Sloop John B. was close by, and they had a clear run ahead of them.

"I'm back," she said softly.

* * *

Closing Credits Stay by Lisa Loeb

* * *

Music

Ree's fight with the Zephyrs - Neko Case - People Got a lot of Nerve

* * *

Game Notes

Manticore MM-8Btest-HA

With the gearing up for the coming war, Bahn/Zai was asked for innovations, better, faster, deadlier, they were told to produce. In an attempt to maintain the Gaian philosophy of minimum waste Bahn/Zai's design teams were asked to produce modifications to existing units that could be made in the field.

Team Buckaroo, faced with what amounted to carte blanche when it came to design and funding, went to work on the Manticore. While there was little they could do to the formidable unit, they made a few changes, the largest being replacing most of the old thruster/vernier system with a more powerful and compact design. The result was a faster and much more agile Manticore and also a Manticore that was hideously expensive, and the Manticore was already pretty expensive. No one actually believed that the modifications would be used except in very limited numbers.

It was a good design though, and the team was quite pleased with it, though understandably upset that it had been stolen.

Flight MA 12

Verniers +4


	6. Episode 6

A Story of the Starblade Battalion

"I want it all Witness. I want everything you have."

Episode 6a (2180.06.01)

by Shawn Hagen

Starblade Battalion is the Property of Games.

Opening Credits-Talking Heads, Life During War Time Version

* * *

"Here," Shingo Miya said, handing the pilot a cup of coffee.

"Thank you Commander," she said, taking the squeeze cup. She had a number of minor injuries and a warming blanket was draped around her shoulders.

"Okay, first, you up to this?"

"I'll be fine," she said.

"You're a tough one Lieutenant," he said. "Leave me floating in a disabled mecha for fourteen hours and I'd be anything but fine."

"Done similar," Carly said, putting the straw in her mouth, giving the cup a squeeze.

"Okay, you and your team were sent to intercept an unknown bogey. What were you told?"

"There was a probably a ship, but it was basically invisible. They did have something on screen, the assumed it was the stolen Heavy Armour."

"Did they tell you what it was?"

"Manticore, modified model. That was about it. I thought we could handle it."

"You were flying interceptors."

"One mech. We had the odds; we still had speed and manoeuvrability, even though that thing was faster and more agile than the others I've seen. We should have had it."

"Why didn't you?"

"The pilot..." She put the straw in her mouth and took another drink. "You know, we, pilots, all like to bullshit, say we are the best, but that pilot," she paused, "was incredible."

"Lieutenant Donaldson, could you have done anything that would have ensured the survival of the rest of your team?"

"If I had been given a couple of Galliards, maybe one of two Manticores of my own, and a lot of luck." She looked directly at him. "You are not hanging this on me."

"Hey," Shingo said, holding his hands up, smiling, "I'm not here to hang anyone. This is war, people are going to die. I'm here to put information together. What about that ship?"

"We didn't see anything. The Manticore appeared as if out of nowhere. Figure the ship had to be close, well within our sensor ranges, but we saw nothing."

"Quite the ship then."

"I was more impressed with the Manticore."

"Understandable. Have you ever seen this woman before?" Shingo picked up a remote and turned the screen on. On it was a picture of a woman, wearing what looked like a security uniform.

"Never saw her before," Carly said. "Who is she?"

"She is the person who stole the Manticore. Assuming they did not change pilots, she's the one you fought with."

"Do you know who she is?"

"Dirty Tricks does not know everything." He smiled again.

"I'd like to meet her again. We have things to settle."

"You may get your chance. Thank you for your time Lieutenant. Get some rest."

"Thank you sir." She got to her feet, saluted, then left the room.

Shingo watched her go, and then turned his attention to the screen once more, flipping through pictures taken from the security cameras at the labs: a woman that they had identified as a Pleiades Marshall; a man that they had yet to identify; and Emiko.

He looked at the picture of his daughter. Her hair was longer, and she had undergone some cosmetic surgery, but he had recognized her the moment he saw her.

He wondered what his daughter was doing with such a group. He was also wondering about the Belin woman. They were making claims about her similar to the ones they had made about Emiko.

About Emiko, he could almost accept. Almost. The Belin woman though, she was a member of a top design team and only two weeks before had passed a security check. It seemed quite unlikely. The doubt about her of course led to more doubts about the charges against Emiko.

He shook his head and shut the screen off. If he was going to try to find out what had happened with his daughter and do all his other work, he was going to be very busy.

* * *

"I do not like this girl," Ryu said.

"She's not Midnight Sun," Sam said. "She is something though."

"What about the people with her?"

"Still running checks on all of them. We got an ID on this one." He indicated one of the pictures. "Marshall Diane Vichy. Nothing bad about her to be found."

"So why has she thrown in with Miya?"

"I suspect that a Pleiades Marshall does not care what Gaians think. It was a mistake dumping all those charges on her. That will come back and haunt us."

"What you or I think is not important," Ryu said. "That girl is a threat."

"She was a threat. Odds are she has shared the information she stole. Now she's a no one."

"No."

"Your letting this become personal."

"I don't care," Ryu almost growled.

"Fine. What do you want to do now?"

"Follow up the only lead we have. I'm going to the Pleiades."

"How are you going to get that okayed?"

"Already did. On site specialist. You're coming with me."

"Wonderful." Sam shook his head.

"Do you have a problem with this?"

"Damn right I have a problem. I agreed to do a lot of things but I do not like being an assassin."

"You are helping to maintain the security of the USSA."

"How? By killing a girl?"

"By removing a threat posed by a person who would destroy all that we would have worked for."

Same shook his head. "Keep telling yourself that Ryu. Maybe it will ease your conscience when you pull the trigger."

* * *

"Is the line secure?" Tess asked.

"It's secure," the woman told her.

"Thanks."

"I'll leave you alone," she said, leaving the room.

Tess typed in the access code then waited. Almost a minute later the call was answered. "This better be good," Carter said.

"I always like to think I am."

"Tess," he looked at her face on his monitor. "Well, I'd ask how you are, but I suspect lousy."

"That obvious?" She smiled, looking at his image on the monitor. He was good looking, confident (she thought his flattop haircut was a bit stupid) but she cared for him so much that just looking at the image on the screen hurt.

"Those charges against you are fake, no one believes them, at least know one who knows you well. Of course they have been well supported. They've slid away from the terrorist angle and now have you working for the other side. You are a traitor who stole a very expensive weapon system."

"What do you think?"

"I think the little officious bastard who showed up here a few hours ago and suggested I might be able to help you if I were to take another posting is lucky he is not breathing vacuum right now. Listen Tess, to cut right to the matter, I can't help you, as much as I want to. I can't give you asylum or hide you or anything. What I can do is go into hiding with you. I got a ship packed up and can leave within ten minutes. Say the word."

"Carter..." She smiled and shook her head. "That would be giving them just what they want, maybe even better. I want you to stay there and annoy them."

"And what about you Tess? I won't just abandon you."

"You won't be abandoning me. I've met some people who are helping me."

"From the Pleiades? The ODF?"

"Yes and no. They aren't with anyone. I'd like to say more, but I can't."

"What will you do?"

"I've been talking to some people Carter, and I'm sure they are telling the truth. I'm going to help stop this war."

"What?"

"They want to stop it before too many people get hurt, get killed. I know it sounds kind of crazy, but it's true."

"Tess, that is crazy. What's more it is suicidal. If you need help, I can send some people your way. They can get you somewhere safe. I can start working on getting you cleared."

"Carter, a lot of people will die. Do we even know what this war is for?"

"A lot of bad reasons. You don't just stop a war though. Hell, half of the SAC has been gearing up for this for some time, looking for a real enemy."

"I know, so do they. But they are going to try. I want to help them."

"This is my fault isn't it?"

She smiled and shook her head. "No. You just followed your beliefs. That's why I love you. It's neither of our faults that some nuts in the government are willing to kill me to get at you."

"Did I ever tell you that one of the reasons I love you is that you are so understanding, to the point of naiveté?"

"No. Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Of sorts. You are set on this aren't you?"

"One hundred percent, mostly."

"Damn." He shook his head. "I don't know what to say beyond, keep your head down, and your ass. Don't volunteer for anything."

"Sound advice. I don't have much time. I've arranged for a message to get to you. It will come through odd channels, so it may take some time to get there. In it I've explained everything I could."

"I want to come with you."

"Like I said, that will give them want they want."

"I don't give a damn."

"I do. This is too important."

"Thanks Tess, make me feel like scum."

"When this is over, we can be together."

"That is not much compensation."

"It is the best I can offer. I don't want to be away from you either. What other choice do we have? They tried to kill me. I don't feel too forgiving." She smiled. "Isn't that sort of sad? Part of the reason I'm doing this is just for revenge. Now I feel like scum."

"You don't have any reason to. You're right. I can be of more use staying here. I hate it, but you're right."

"We'll be together again."

"Then I'll be waiting. Take care of yourself."

"Take your own advice."

"I'm a desk jockey. I'm perfectly safe."

"So you say. Good bye Carter. See you as soon as I can."

"Good bye Tess. Love you." He cut the connection.

Tess sat back in her chair, smiling slightly. His haircut was so stupid, she thought, then she wiped a tear from her eye. She was going to miss him so much, stupid haircut and all.

* * *

"Can you get this through?" Emiko asked as she gave an envelope to one of the Ravagers.

"Tokyo?" she said, looking at the address. "Sure, no problem."

"Thanks."

"Take care."

Emiko nodded then kicked off towards the Sloop John B. Free Fall was an interesting place, most of its inhabitants were pretty freewheeling. Vagabond City, where the Starblade Battalion—through its Ravager allies—was building up a fairly large base of operations, was a slum. A zero G slum no less. A slum that Emiko kind of liked. It was, in a very odd way, one of the ultimate places to shop. Ree had taken her to a small place that sold designer clothing, personal weapons, and cannon ammunition.

She wouldn't like to wander about it alone, but with someone else there, it was kind of fun.

"Ready to go?" Tern called to her as she floated towards the open hatch.

"Ready." She grabbed his hand and let him pull her in.

"Do me a favour?"

"What?"

"Make sure no one messes up the place. I'm carrying twice my regular passenger load here and at least one of the idiots is a slob."

"Yes sir." She saluted smartly, keeping one hand on a handhold.

She smiled rakishly. "Good." He turned and pushed off, floating towards the cockpit. Emiko turned around and sealed the hatch.

When she entered the galley she found several people there. They were playing cards around the dining table. She nodded to Juan, and then pushed off, landing beside a large man smoking a cigar. "Sorry, no smoking," she told him, taking the cigar from his mouth before he could stop her.

"What?" he demanded. "This ship's air filters should be more than up to handling a little cigar smoke."

"That may be true, but you might drop ashes on the rug," she said as she stubbed the cigar out. "The smoke is not good for the art work, and it is just unpleasant. You did notice the 'No Smoking' signs didn't you?" She indicated one.

"This is crazy." The man turned to Juan. "Who is she, the stewardess?"

"She's an assassin," Juan said, not looking up from his cards. "One of the best in the Pleiades."

"You're joking?"

"Nope. I'd listen to her."

"I guess I can do without cigars for the rest of the trip," he said, sounding a little nervous. "No offense Miss."

"Thank you," Emiko said, then turned around and pushed off the back of his chair, heading towards her cabin.

* * *

For all of Tern's complaining, well, not quite complaining Emiko admitted, the trip back to the Pleiades was comfortable enough. The ship had space to spare and even double its usual component it was not that cramped.

They dropped most of the passengers off at a small spinner station, basically out in the middle of nowhere. After that they went to Zanzibar where they put the rest into the care of a group of Charybdis. Emiko said good bye to Tess at the point. She had Tess had become friends during the journey.

From there they continued on to Libertatia, a small, mobile, asteroid base. Emiko stood just behind Tern in the cockpit, watching as they approached the space rock.

It was not huge, as asteroids went, at almost seven hundred meters across, according the data the sensors were providing. There was a rotating living section, partially buried in the rock of the asteroid, and a number of sensor antenna and the like scattered across the surface. Tern was in conversation with the asteroid's control, getting landing clearance. Diane was at the co-pilot's station; Juan was sitting behind her, using the radio to talk to someone else. Ree had earlier space walked to her Manticore.

"Okay," Tern said, "understood, coming in. Ree, you can blow off now, they got a mech bay open for you.

"Got ya," Ree said. A moment later the ship shook slightly as the Manticore pushed off. Emiko watched it fly away, towards a bright, point of light on the asteroid.

A short time later they were entering a large ship bay. Emiko saw three ships that were larger than the John B, as well as a number of smaller cutters. Tern moved the ship slowly to a docking cradle, dropping his ship gently into it. Robotic arms slipped out and locked the ship down.

"Okay," Juan stood, "let's go and see what is what."

The conference room, like much of the interior, had been cut out of the asteroid. The tools that had been used in the job had left the walls smooth and almost polished. Along with the conduits, heating units, air scrubbers and cables that were visible throughout the base there were also several projectors on the ceiling, and a lot of lights.

The room could have easily held about forty people but at present there were only seven people there. Emiko had been introduced to Jiron Sembawang, who was in charge of the base, and Lilith Blackhand, one of Shiva's first officers. To Emiko it was obvious that Diane and Lilith knew each other and the relationship, while not unfriendly, was a little frosty.

Jiron was a thin, wiry man, with dark skin and dark, curly hair. A flat broad nose, and a mouth suited for smiling; he made up for in charm what he lacked in looks. Lilith was tall, with pale skin and long, black hair. She was a rather plain woman, with a stern look about her. Emiko thought she was the type of woman who would not put up with any trouble; she reminded Emiko a little of her junior high school home room teacher.

"Now that we've got all the pleasantries out of the way," Jiron said, "let's get down to business. First of all, good work on Earth. Second, this is Libertatia, our field command post. Since you have been gone we have organized, as much as we can. As you Know Captain Frost is our commander. Our field commander is Jesse Ryuzaki. After that things get a little less clear." He smiled. "We've broken down into units called Blades, makes sense right? These units have a mixture of personnel, each Blade is made up of around four to five teams, each team has several people in it, and some have mechs."

"What are we doing right now?" Juan asked.

"Getting ready, procuring supplies, gathering allies, mounting a few missions to slow down the war; we've already had teams quietly sabotage a number of probability anchors on both sides. It's not much, but it is making the SAC and ODC spend more time working on their defences. We also found out that the Board of Directors has a hit list of their own. We've been doing much like you were on Earth."

"So where do we fit into this?"

"You're mine," Lilith said. "I command Thunder Blade, five teams, you'll sort of make my sixth, but I'm not exactly counting you as one. Based on your team, right now I think you'll work better as an independent unit, seeking out your own missions. Your stores requests go through me, and I'll expect you to keep me informed of your plans at all times. This situation could change any time. You'll be working to bring all your people to combat ready status."

"Understood," Juan said.

"What are you planning right now?" Jiron asked.

"A few days rest. All right if we stay here?"

"We've got the space. The swimming pool is still being cleaned and the tennis courts are in bad shape though." He smiled.

"I'm sure we'll survive," Juan told him.

"I think that is everything that we need to discuss right now," Jiron said, looking over at Lilith.

"Yeah. I want to talk to you." She looked at Juan. "We've got some things to hash out."

"I'm yours."

"Come on then. I've got some things for you on my ship," she said as she got out of her chair. Juan followed after her.

"We're pretty laid-back right now," Jiron told the rest of them. "Still trying to figure out what sort of rank system to use and all that. Still, this is a military base, so play it cool."

"Got ya," Ree said. "I need some work done on my mech. Permission to use your facilities and stores?"

"What do you want to do?"

"Give it a new paint job. Bit of standard maintenance, fuel and ammunition."

"Granted."

"Thanks sir," Ree told him as she got out of her chair and kicked herself across the room. "See you later."

"I'll be going as well," Jiron said as he followed after Ree.

"You know Blackhand well?" Tern asked Diane.

"Well? No, not really. We've crossed paths a few times. As smugglers go, she's not bad. We've shot at each other once, but that was professional."

"If you shot at her, why is she still alive?"

"Because I wanted her to stay alive," Diane told him.

"I'm going to the living quarters. All this zero-G is getting to me," Emiko said as she stood up.

"I'll go with you." Tern also got to his feet. "Marshall?"

"I got other things to look into first. I'll see you later."

* * *

"These are the basics," Lilith said as she handed Juan several disks. "Numbers, the whos and wheres, and stuff. That should give you a pretty good picture of how things are going." They were seated in the small office of her Cruiser, the 'Thunder Clap'.

"What has been happening lately around here? I've heard rumours, but I want facts."

"Ryuzaki said you would." She put some data blocks on the desk. "That red block is a list of current events for you to over. Now, give me an outline of what you might be planning."

"Right now, based on what you have said, resource procurement. It is a specialty of mine, and my team will handle that well. As we get combat ready, as you have asked, we'll probably move into other missions. I'll have us ready for whatever you might need as soon as I can."

"Good. What do you need right now?"

"Some fuel, small arms, ammunition, basics. What is the money situation like?"

"Bad. Our funds are very limited."

"Looks like I'll be financing my operations for the next little while then." Juan shrugged his shoulders. "I'll see if I can fill our war coffers. Where are the top dogs right now?"

"Good question. We get messages from either Frost or Ryuzaki almost daily, but I couldn't say where they were. Heard Frost went off to make some friends by saving a planet's ecosystem. Ryuzaki could be anywhere a fold drive would take him right now."

"Any plans to set up a tighter structure?"

"Not right now. We don't really need it and it might actually be a hindrance."

"Catch as catch can," Juan said.

"What?"

"We do what looks good and worry about it later."

"That's about it."

"Easy system to work in."

"Don't screw up."

"I'll try not to. I need to get a message to Shiva."

"Private?"

"Not terribly so."

"Give it to me."

"There's a convoy of freighters destined for Gamma 5, slated to arrive on the tenth of this month. It leaves its Earth Space escort behind when it shunts. Has to make a stop at the Halcyon system first to pick up some crew and a new escort. Fast attack at the right time and place," he took a small data brick from his jacket and held it up, "could take it all."

"I'll see that he gets it." She reached out and took the disk from him. "You want to be on it?"

"This will be a combat mission. Not my team's style right now."

"Okay. If it looks good, we'll nab it."

"My ten percent commission can be paid in war bonds."

"What?"

"It is what I usually charge."

"You are a piece of work, you know."

"So I've been told." He smiled at her.

"If they don't give you a Blade of your own, I'll probably make you my second in command sooner or later."

* * *

Ree looked up at the Manticore resting in its maintenance frame. She and the techs had stripped off the SAC colours from it, gave it a new primer coat, and then they had painted it up in her colours: Dark, dark blue, with silver highlights.

"Main coat will be dry in about twenty minutes," the crew chief told her. "We'll put a protective coat on it then. Want anything else?"

"Six kill markers."

"Have to see proof first. Regulations and such."

"Let's crack out the cockpit recorder."

"Can do. Anything else?"

"Write, 'The Ultimate Persuader' on the cannon. Bright red letters."

"Tacky."

"Perhaps."

"Let's go see the records."

* * *

The dining hall was deserted. Only a few of the machines remained on, keeping coffee and tea hot, a few pots of soup and a warmer for the bread. Emiko sat at one of the tables, her computer in front of her. She had all her text books loaded onto her computer; a gift from her mother. Studying gave her something to do.

Every few minutes she would stretch slightly, trying to relieve some of the strain on her shoulders. The living quarters were rotating at close to 1.2 Gs. She had been told the increased gravity helped offset muscle atrophy as most people worked in low gravity. That was fine, but her bra straps were digging into her shoulders a little more than usual—not that that they dug into her shoulders all that much in normal gravity—and the extra weight all about her body just seemed odd.

"Emiko-kun," Diane called as she came into the galley. "What are you doing?"

"Studying," Emiko said, looking over at the woman.

"What?"

"Calculus."

"Why?"

"I need it for the University Entrance Exams," she said, realizing how lame that sounded. University seemed such a far off thing now.

"I see," Diane stopped beside her. "Where's your sidearm?"

"In the cabin, on the ship. I think."

"You think?"

"I'm pretty sure."

"Tell you what. Go and get it. Then meet me back here."

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to teach you how to keep yourself alive," she said. "Now go."

* * *

It took Emiko longer to find the weapon than she had thought. She had shoved it into one of the cabinets in her cabin then had forgotten. When she got to the dining hall she found Diane waiting for her, looking a little put off. There were several briefcases on the table she sat at.

"What took you so long?" Her tone was sharp.

"I forgot where I put it."

Diane shook her head "Okay, get over here. Let's see it."

Emiko took the heavy automatic pistol from the holster, and then placed the holster on the table.

"How does that feel?"

"Pardon?" Emiko asked.

"How does it feel?"

"A bit heavy."

"Then why do you have it?"

"It was given to me," Emiko told her, wondering what point she was trying to make.

Diane reached over and took the pistol from her. "On safe, magazine loaded, no round in the chamber, that's all good," she said as she looked the weapon over. "At least you know the basics. Now, what you need is a weapon that feels good," Diane started opening the briefcases. Inside were pistols.

"Normally," Diane took out one of the pistols. "You start with rifles, but a rifle is not the most useful weapon for you at this point. You'll learn them though, trust me on that. Here," she gave Emiko the pistol, "what do you think?"

Emiko made sure it was on safe, and then bounced it in her hand. "Not as heavy."

"Okay, so the weight is good. What about the rest? How does it feel?"

"I don't like how this safety is placed," she said after a moment.

"What about this one." Diane handed her another pistol.

"Its," Emiko thought about at as she held it, "a little. maybe, too heavy at the front?"

"Here, try this." She gave Emiko another weapon.

Emiko took it, then nodded after a moment. "Good, I guess."

"Okay," Diane put the other pistols back in the briefcases and closed them. "Not a bad choice. An old nine millimetre. Ammunition can be a bit hard to find at times, but that is not a big concern. We'll start with that, then work on the rest."

"The rest?"

"Every other pistol," she indicated the briefcase. "Don't get to comfortable with one weapon. We'll start with the basics. You know how to strip that and clean it?"

"No," Emiko said.

"You'll learn. After that we'll move onto basic repairs. Now, first thing, make that weapon safe."

Emiko nodded, ejected the magazine, and then worked the action back and forth.

* * *

"Ree, nice paint job," Juan said, floating across the bay towards her.

"I like it."

"Why only six kill markers?" he asked as he grabbed the railing of the maintenance bay stopping his flight. "You had, what, something like ten from the old days?"

"Not counting those."

"Ah." He nodded. "Listen, I can fly these things," he looked up at the mech, "but I'm no great pilot. Diane could also use some pointers. All Tern needs is a little gunnery instruction, and someone from here will give him some help with that."

"So I'm supposed to whip you into mecha pilots," Ree smiled. "Can do. What will you teach me?"

"Any other woman I might make some sexually charged comment, but you could teach me in that area as well."

"Damn right."

"I'm not a teacher, I'm a doer. I think Diane has started teaching Emiko how to shoot. If you want, I'm sure she could show you a thing or two."

"I'll keep that in mind. Anything else?"

"Can you teach Emiko to fly?"

"She going to get a datalink?"

"Not likely. Not soon."

"I can rig something together, but she could never go into combat until she goes under the needle."

"She may eventually, and if she does she could use the head start."

"I'll do what I can," Ree said. "I might even be able to make her a good as me."

"Two Maxils? Hell, two of you could take on both sides by yourselves."

"Suck up," Ree said.

"I always try to stay on the good side of people who will be teaching me to fly combat."

"Make sure Tern shows her how to fly that ship."

"He's my next stop on the list of teachers. How are you when it comes to spacecraft?"

"I can handle them in combat, if it comes down to that."

"I think you'll be spending more time in the cockpit of a mecha. What do you think of your new toy by the way?"

"He's a hot little monster. I think his previous owners are going to miss him."

"Take care of it. You won't get another."

"I kind of figured as much. Tess told me that the flight units on this thing cost about three times the price of the original suit to build."

"Don't expect any replacement parts."

* * *

Emiko opened the door to quarters she had been assigned, walked to her bed, then flopped forward onto it. She was tired and her left shoulder hurt. "Learn to shoot in zero-G and the rest comes easier," she said, trying to imitate Diane's voice. What a load of crap. All she had done was fail to hit the target most of the time and once bounce herself off a wall.

She was conscious of the pistol she was wearing. Diane had told her that she was to keep one on her, or within arm's distance, for the duration of their operations.

"Emi-chan," she heard Ree call as she opened the door. "What are you doing?"

"Sleeping," Emiko said.

"No time for that, get up," Ree walked over and dropped onto Emiko's bed.

"Why?"

"I'm going to teach you how to fly a mech. Aren't you happy?"

"No," Emiko mumbled softly.

"Come on, get up," Ree reached over and ran her fingers under Emiko's arms causing her to yelp and pull her arms in tight.

"Can't this wait?" Emiko turned over to look at Ree.

"No. We're at war."

Emiko sighed, and then sat up. "How can I fly a mecha without a datalink? I am not going to get one?"

"Trust me Emi-chan. I was driving mechs at twelve. There are ways around everything."

* * *

"What is all this?" Emiko asked from the seat of the beat up Troubadour; Ree had borrowed the suit.

"Something my daddy cooked up for me when I wanted to learn how to drive these things," Ree told her, leaning over the seat to adjust the screen. "It's all kind of old tech, from back in the days when they were cutting off parts of people's bodies and replacing them with metal. The mess of sensors on your head, and that computer hanging around your neck, work together to do a very bad job of what the datalinks do so well."

"I see."

"Now, let's get this straight right now. This set up is terrible. Don't ever think of going into combat using it. You could be in my Manticore, your enemy could be in a half dead, old style construction suit with a couple of machine guns bolted on and they would probably win, no matter how good you are."

"So why even bother with this."

"Basic, non-combat piloting might be of use. Also, if you ever change your mind, learning with this sort of handicap will make you so much better when you remove it. Now, let's run through the start up procedures, after we have this thing purring, you'll walk around the bay a few times. After that, I'll let you fly it around the asteroid."

"Imagine, some people would actually think this is fun," Emiko said, following the procedures that Ree had taught her.

"Shut up Emi-chan and do it. I'm a great teacher but I've been told I have little patience."

Emiko nodded as she continued her work. All things considered, she'd rather be asleep.

* * *

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Lilith asked as Juan and Diane took their seats.

"Midnight Sun, and a few other things," Juan told her.

"Ah, so you heard about Telluria."

"Yes," Diane said.

"There is also the fact that the Nemyss continuing his noise about the death of an entire planet," Juan told her.

"Well, no one is happy about them. What do you want to do?"

"Three part plan."

"Let's hear it."

"I'm going to find out what the Midnight Sun is planning so it can be stopped. I'm going to shut down one of their major suppliers. I'm going to bring a lot of resources into the battalion."

"Well shit, why don't you just end the war right now?"

"My hat's big, but even so, I can only pull so many rabbits out of it."

"What?"

"What he is saying," Diane said. "Is that he can do this, but don't get greedy."

"I like being greedy. Tell me, just how do you plan to do this all?"

"Diane and I are off to have a conversation with the person who supplies the Midnight Sun with a lot of their gear."

"Fuck." She shook her head. "Avatar told me to watch you."

"We'll be gone for a few days. Can you lend us one of those cutters?"

"You can have this ship if you want it."

"No, just the cutter will be fine."

"I'll arrange it."

"Thanks boss." Juan got to his feet. Diane got out of her chair as well.

"Bring in even half of what you promised and you won't need to thank me."

"I'll bring it all in," Juan said as he went to the door. "And maybe a little more."

"Stop bragging," Diane said as she snatched a handful of his jacket and pulled him from the office.

Lilith wondered if he would actually accomplish all he said. If so, she wondered if there was a way for her to take credit for some of it.

* * *

The Proteus Colonization spinner had changed over the years. Initially built to supply the forces that would be required to take the Planet Telluria. It had slowly been modified to become a business centre of sorts. A number of companies, while having business in the system, did not want to put their system offices on 'Dinoworld'.

Among the larger companies, like Solingen GmbH, PRCI and Frontier Armaments, there were also a large number of smaller corporations and businesses operating there. 'Rembrant's Construction' was one of these smaller corporations.

Witness Rembrant did not look up from his computer screen when someone knocked on his door. He was not seeing anyone that day; they could knock as long as they wanted. As he expected, the knocking stopped soon after it started. What he did not expect was the sound of his door opening.

"What the hell?" He looked up and found himself looking at Juan Varis. "Juan?"

"Good to see you looking so well Witness," Juan said, walking into the room, taking a seat in front of his desk. "Business good?"

"I can't complain. What the hell is this about Juan?"

"What, no bull shitting? Not going to invite me to lunch? Oh well, if you want to get right down to brass tacks, I'm willing to play. Listen, you got twenty Draken knockoffs in a warehouse on Rubicon. I want them."

"Is this a joke?"

"No, what I'll offer for them is though."

"Juan, I think you are confused."

"Witness, please. You control something like twenty percent of the illegal arms shipment that goes on in the Pleiades. Pretty impressive for a poor boy from the belt. You also supply the Midnight Sun."

"Now that is a dangerous lie to spread."

"Witness, let's not jerk each other around here. My business partner would not like it."

"Business partner?"

"Marshall Diane Vichy," Diane said from the door. She was holding a pistol in her hand. "We've already cut you off Mr. Rembrant," Diane said as she entered the room, pulling the door closed. "Please don't make us use violence."

"Marshall, you of all people should know what you are doing is illegal."

"Witness," Juan said. "Have you ever known me not to be able to back up something?" Juan took an eyes only pad from his jacket and tossed it at Witness. It hit him hard in the chest and then fell into his lap. Witness stared angrily at Juan then picked up the pad. His face suddenly paled.

"I could kill you right now for even half of what is on that thing," Diane told him.

"Juan, you go to believe me. I didn't know they were Midnight Sun when I started to deal with them."

"Then why did you continue?"

"They would have killed me if I stopped, if I went to the authorities."

"So you continued to take their money and help them kill people." Juan shook his head. "Witness, you are, amongst other things, an idiot."

"They would have killed me."

"And Diane will kill you now, unless you are willing to work with us."

"What is it you want? Money? Weapons?"

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"I want it all Witness. I want everything you have."

"Everything?"

"Everything. We'll start with all the weapons you have, but ultimately it will be everything. I'll offer you karmic balance. You have been responsible for a lot of deaths, now you will be responsible for saving a lot of lives. You should be paying me for such a deal."

"You want me to give you all the weapons I have?"

"Yes. And everything else, from the crates of bolts in the corner there, to those shuttles you got sitting on that landing field Organon, we'll pay you for, ten percent the market price, before the war, in war bonds."

"Wait! Ten percent. That is crazy."

"Witness, I can't give you full price. I'm on a shoestring here. Of course you can refuse to help us, which is fine. I got a hacker who can peel your system and give it all to me anyway. It will take a few days, but I don't have to pay you anything. Then I can take the ten percent that I was going to give you, and pocket it."

"No you can't," Diane said.

"Damn." Juan snapped his fingers. "I forgot she was here." He looked at Witness and shrugged his shoulders. "So, you can get something out of all this, or you can get nothing."

"And I'll kill you," Diane said.

"Wow!" Juan looked between Diane and Witness. "Does she know how to negotiate or does she know how to negotiate?"

"Mr. Rembrant, for what you have done, I should kill you. If you do as Juan asks, I will consider a good portion of your punishment dealt with. When the war is over you'll spend a few years in prison, under other charges, and I'll keep you out of Goal."

"So I lose almost everything, and then have to go to prison?"

"Either that or die."

"You're no better than criminals yourself."

"No," Diane shook her head. "The only reason I am being so lenient with you is that there are pressing concerns that are of greater importance than you."

"So Witness, going to play with us?"

"I don't have much of a choice."

"Good. I knew you would come over. Now before you start giving me the run down on your empire, the pass codes to your accounts, the deeds to your properties, I must tell you, I don't know everything about your set up. I do know some things though. So you will have to ask yourself, if you choose to lie, what happens if you are lying about something I know about?"

"I understand," he said, not sounding happy about it.

"One more thing Witness."

"What, my first born?"

"No. I want to know everything you know about Midnight Sun, everything you have sold them."

"If that sort of information gets out they'll know I talked. They'll kill me. I won't…."

Whatever else he was going to say was lost as Diane put several bullets into his desk top. The .22 rounds were subsonic, the pistol had silencer, and there was little noise. Witness looked at the bullet holes marring his desk.

"Fact is Witness, as much as I abhor doing business like this, we'll kill you if you don't tell us what we want to know. Midnight Sun is fanatic, but we are better. As long as we want you alive, it won't matter if they want you dead. We want you dead though, and there is no one who can protect you."

"I'll give you complete files," Witness said, sounding broken.

"Good," Juan smiled. "So, let's get to work."

* * *

"What are we going to do with a Skiing Villa on Solingen?" Diane asked as she looked through the files they had received from Witness.

"Go skiing," Juan shrugged his shoulders. "I just took everything he had; it didn't have to be of any use to the war effort. Hell, they can give it to the first soldier who wins the Starblade cross of Valour or something," he laughed as he picked up a squeeze cup.

"What the hell are you drinking anyway?"

"Rye and cola. Want some?"

"Stupid question." She reached over and took the cup.

"He gave them six, ten kiloton nukes."

"I'm not sure I can keep him alive after this."

"If you break your word every now and then no one is going to think any less of you," Juan told her, taking back the cup.

"You would have no problem killing him after promising to keep him alive?"

"Actually executing him? That would be a problem. Breaking my word, to him? I could live with that."

"So as long as the person is bad, you don't feel the need to honour you word?"

"Sometimes. And defining bad is a hard thing to do. If Witness had actually cared about a cause, and cared about more than money, I might have a higher opinion of him. As it is he's a greedy ass hole who never gave much thought to the people he helped to kill."

"Keep that sort of talk up I might actually think you are a half decent person," Diane said as she took the squeeze cup from him again.

"So I'm growing on you." He smiled and looked down at his screen. "Wait a second."

"What?"

"Witness has been selling these people weapons for almost eight years. Yet two weeks ago he sold them a bunch of underwater welding equipment, some heavy construction gear, a few Troubadours, and a bunch of other crap like that."

"Maybe they want to equip the Troubs into weapon platforms or something?" Diane suggested.

"Don't quite see it."

"Wait, did you say underwater welding gear?"

"Yeah. Some other stuff like that as well."

"Salamanca," Diane said.

"Waikiki."

"Makes sense. They could take out the entire colony with only a little work. We'll have to inform Solingen."

"Wait on that."

"What?"

"Solingen will go after this with a heavy hand. They'll give it away, Midnight Sun will abort."

"Good."

"There's more value in taking out a portion of their people."

"Juan," she levelled her gaze at him, "this would be a major operation."

"We can get the people for this."

"It is right in Solingen's backyard."

"We can deal with that."

"What is this really about?"

"You know Miki Vels?" Juan asked her.

"Colony Manager of Waikiki. What about her?"

"She's pretty popular, and a moderate. I know her fairly well."

"Okay?"

"If we saved the place, she could be convinced to let everyone know it was us, once we went public. Good publicity."

"And if we screwed up?"

"I wouldn't go to her till after the fact."

"You are a bastard."

"I know it's harsh, but think about it. We announce, and Miki tells everyone that we were the ones that saved Waikiki. The ODF and SAC are too busy with their war to help the people. That is the image it will generate for us."

"It's a great idea Juan, but what if we screw up?"

"We won't screw up."

"And how are you so sure of that?"

"You'll kill me if we do. With that sort of incentive, you know I'll make this work."

"I wish you weren't right about this."

"Tell me about it. I'd much rather drop this all in Solingen's lap and take care of something easy. It's too valuable an opportunity to pass up."

"All right, but I'm bringing in some other Marshals for this one. We'll do this right."

"As long as they can be trusted."

"Juan, you say the stupidest things sometimes."

"I love you to."

"Think you can get Lilith to go for this?"

"She'll jump on it."

"And the others?"

"We shall see."

* * *

Closing Credits Stay by Lisa Loeb


	7. Episode 7

A Story of the Starblade Battalion

Juan, has anyone ever told you that you are a bastard?

Episode 7a (2180.06.08)

by Shawn Hagen

Starblade Battalion is the Property of Games.

Opening Credits-Talking Heads, Life During War Time Version

* * *

Lilith looked from Juan to Diane, wondering just what she was supposed to do. First Juan had increased the Battalion stores by almost one hundred percent, then he dropped an insane plan on her. Anyone else, she might have just kicked them out of her office, but Juan had done what he had promised; and Diane was armed.

"I don't think we can pull off this operation," she said. "Stopping the Midnight Sun is one thing, I agree we can do that, but everything else," she shook her head. "I just don't see it happening."

"If Juan is right about Miss Vels I think it will work," Diane told her.

Lilith looked at Diane for a moment. The Marshall had a reputation for a certain amount of recklessness, but she always came through. Juan shared a similar reputation. Both were telling her it could work. "What about the ODF base on Salamanca?"

"They'll never know we are there until it is too late. Then we'll be gone," Juan told her.

"You're sure of that?"

"Sure enough."

"Hell," Lilith shook her head. "Okay, you're on. You have all of thunder team, but I don't think that will be enough."

"It's actually close. We have other sources of personnel," Juan told her.

"Such as?"

"Several other Marshals," Diane said.

"Wonderful. They are sure to work together well with us pirates."

"I thought you were smugglers," Diane said, smiling slightly.

"But that is the point. You don't think that."

"I think all of us hate Midnight Sun enough to put aside any of our personal feelings," Juan interjected. "I don't think Personnel conflicts will be that much of a problem."

"Equipment?"

"We'll draw from the Battalion stores. I think we earned it. I suspect we'll need a suit for every site, just in case they have some heavier firepower than a bunch of Troubs. Personal weapons, underwater gear, money, transport, the usual."

"I'll get us some Crossbones; they're rigged for underwater use."

"Sounds good."

"What if nothing happens?"

"I say we give it a week. If nothing happens by then we inform the planet authorities and just bail. We'll call it a training exercise."

"If something will happen, how long do you think we have?"

"Not very long," Diane said.

"Then we had better begin making plans," Lilith said. "We have a lot of work ahead of us don't we?"

* * *

"Hold it steady," Tern said, watching Emiko as she tired to bring the shuttle in.

"I am."

"Just relax, you got a death grip on the stick. Keep lined up with those lights."

Emiko did as he said, trying to keep the shuttle steady.

"Better," Tern said, now, move us closer to the starboard, but do it gently. Any jerky moves at this point and docking control will have a fit."

"Hai," Emiko told him, moving the controls very gently.

"This would be a lot easier if you had a datalink," Tern said.

"Well I don't," Emiko said, trying to keep her voice even.

"Just pointing out a fact. Watch your angle of approach, it's too shallow."

"Hai."

"Shuttle Fox-trot 3, this is control. Do you think you could go much slower, you're only holding up three other ships now."

Tern smiled as he switched the com on. "Control, this is F3, sorry, we got a red light on the port engine and don't want to push it."

"Why don't you chance it. Or you could just shut off the port engine completely, it is not like it would slow you down. Control out."

"Bite me," Tern said, still smiling. Emiko noticed he had not transmitted that. "Okay Emiko, why don't you push the throttles forward a little before they decide to write us up for unsafe piloting."

"It's unsafe to go slow?" Emiko asked him as she gave the shuttle a little more speed.

"It is when a craft behind you slams into you."

"I see."

"Keep it steady, remember, use the lights to keep on track."

"Hai."

Tern watched her as she brought it in. She passed through the huge opening of the landing bay, then began edging to shuttle over towards the docking berth.

"Use the braking thrusters, on, off," he said, tapping his finger against the console. "Keep a close watch on your velocity and deceleration."

"Hai."

"Make sure you know everything going on around you, see that shuttle, we'll be passing close to it, keep and eye on it."

"Hai," Emiko said, she sounded scared.

"Move a little to starboard."

"Hai."

"Good. Okay, I'm taking over," Tern said as he grasped the controls of his station. Emiko transferred control over to him. "This last little bit is tough, watch carefully."

Emiko wanted just to slump back in the chair, but instead she watched as Tern brought the shuttle nearly to a complete stop, right above the docking racks. The robotic arms clamped onto the shuttle and pulled it secure into the rack.

"It's all in the wrist," he told her. "Got to keep everything under control."

Emiko nodded.

"You need work."

Emiko nodded.

"But you're not bad."

"Thank you."

"Go back and wait for the inspectors to come aboard. Be polite, but don't let them bully you."

"Will everything be all right?"

"Don't worry, this place is pretty busy. They'll just want to check the papers, nose around a little, this shuttle has a clean history so they are not going to waste anytime on cracking open all the cargo holds. Be cool, keep calm, and smile a lot. Don't look nervous."

Emiko nodded then undid her restraint harness, got out of the chair, and headed back into the holds.

The shuttle had been ferried to the Primus System by the cruiser Thunder Clap, with a number of other shuttles. She and Tern were carrying some weapons, ammunition, a suit, and several thousand kilograms of ankadilo meat. Juan had told her that the meat was not only an excellent cover, but also sold very well on Salamanca. Juan really confused her sometimes.

The harried looking inspector came on, asked to see all the documentation, asked her a few questions, then gave her authorization to land on Salamanca. Then he was gone and Emiko was wondering if it was always that easy to smuggle things onto planets.

Later, when she asked Tern about it, he told her that much was in the documentation and the ship name. There were a lot of things that just did not raise red flags.

Almost as soon as the shuttle touched down on the landing pad of Township 4, Little Bangkok, Juan had hustled her off the shuttle, barely waiting for the inspector to finish up his work. He literally dragged her out. A short time later they were in a small yacht, heading towards Township 2, Little Vancouver-all the townships had been named after famous, or in some cases infamous, Earth, port cities.

* * *

"Here," Juan tossed her a bundle of clothing. "Put that on."

"Turn around," Emiko told him as she began to loosen the neck of her jumpsuit.

"It's not like you have anything I haven't seen before," he said, turning around.

"You've seen similar," Emiko said, unsealing the jumpsuit to her waist then shrugging it off. "I'd rather keep my set up private."

"Ree's right. You are a prude."

"I am not!" Emiko snapped. "Just because I have a little modesty doesn't mean I'm a prude," she pushed the jumpsuit down her legs.

"Do you really blush all over?" Juan asked.

"Shut up!" she snapped, kicking the clothing away from her. She turned her attention to the clothes Juan had brought. Sifting through them she found a blouse which she slipped into. "So, what is happening?"

"Nothing as far as we can tell. It worries me and Diane."

"Why?" Emiko asked as she buttoned the blouse.

"For one, we might have been wrong. The other possibility is that they are just too good at covering themselves."

"Which do you think it is?" she asked, picking up the skirt and stepping into it.

"Neither. I just think they haven't started yet. I need you to check the security computers, see if there is anything there."

"Is that where we are going?" Emiko pressed the seal tabs shut, then twisted the skirt's waistband around herself..

"Little Vancouver. Holds the city's main security computer. We've got to get you inside so you can check it out."

"You can turn around now. How am I going to get inside?"

"Easy," he walked over to her. "Congratulations Miss Miya," he picked up the jacket and turned it so she could see the front and the insignia on it. "You have just become a sergeant in the Waikiki Police Force, internal affairs division."

"Me?" She put her finger on her nose. "A police officer?"

"Just keep your head down." He tossed the jacket onto her head.

"Do you have a map of the building?" she asked as she pulled the jacket off her head.

"Of course."

"Pass codes?"

"A few, most are a bit old. They should let you do some shallow work."

"Back up?"

"Two Marshals in the building."

"Good, I suppose. Basic plan?" she asked as she pulled on the jacket.

"Walk in. If anyone asks, not that I think anyone will, you are there to see Lieutenant Maria Clai about a bunch of smugglers she busted last night. The Lieutenant is currently out and will be for about six hours. Say you'll wait. They might think that is strange, but they won't ask anyone from IE too many questions."

"So I got six hours to work with. And when I leave."

"Leave a message for her then go. You'll find some business cards in your jacket."

"What if she gets back early?"

"Ask her for her records on the 'Green' case, then leave. If she asks you anything just tell her that you can't say anything about it at the present time."

"Sounds a little cruel."

"Maybe. But it is a great cover."

"Show me the map."

"Sit down," he indicated a chair in front of computer.

"How recent are these?" Emiko asked, taking a seat.

"Two years old. No major renovations," he told her as he turned on the computer.

She nodded.

"The main security computer is here," an area on the map lit up red. "High security area. I don't think you could get in there."

"This is the main computer?"

"Yes. It receives a feed from all the other townships' security computers. Not a bad system, one way gates, nice bit of redundancy, pretty secure."

"How does it get the feed?"

"They have three satellites that they run everything through. I know it sounds a little off, but it is pretty secure. Hard to get a false feed into that."

"Satellites..." Emiko said, looking at the screen. She tapped a few keys, changing the display. "There. I found it!"

"What?"

"This is a feed from dishes on the roof. I should be able to get in from there."

"How?"

"This room here," she indicated a maintenance room in one of the unsecured areas, "this vent."

"Vents," he shook his head. "Think you'll fit?"

"Tight squeeze, but I'll be all right," she said. It was a good thing she had dropped some weight over the last few weeks. "And I don't have to go in far, just enough to get a tap on one of the network feeds."

"Okay. How long?

"Three, four hours."

"That long?"

"I don't think it will be an easy system."

"Okay. Once you've been in, can you get back in?"

"Maybe. I might be able to set up a pulse virus, something that sends out reports every few hours, maybe more often, but then there is a greater chance someone will notice. Is there a place I can send that to?"

"We've got a few computers set up. Here are the addresses," he told her, displaying them on the screen.

"After this?"

"Once we know the system is clean, then it is sit tight and wait."

Emiko nodded as she carefully looked over the map. She wanted to find some escape routes.

* * *

"You look horrible," Juan said.

"The duct was smaller than I thought, and a little too warm for comfort," Emiko said as she got into the electric car. Her clothing was mussed, there was dust on her face, and her hair was stuck to her scalp with perspiration.

"No one said anything?"

"I think one or two of them thought I was having sex with someone."

"I'd almost think you'd be insulted by that," Juan said as he pulled away from the curb.

"I was, but it was better than being arrested."

"So what's the news?"

"The system is clean, but someone has been in there. I think they've been figuring out how it works."

"Can you monitor it?"

"I've got a virus in there that is sending out pulses every forty minutes."

"Couldn't get it happening more?"

"Like I said, more chance of it being detected. I'm cutting it close with every forty minutes because they've got some very good detection programs in there."

"How did you handle those one way gates?"

"Looped it out through another one way gate."

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Hack what is supposed to be uncrackable."

"Nothing is really uncrackable... And I cheat."

"What?"

"You couldn't do it with a datalink; the systems are really keyed to them. You might say I stealth by."

"You're kidding?" Juan took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at her.

"No."

"I can't believe that."

"What's so hard to believe? The people who design the software were hooked up to the computers with datalinks. It makes them surprisingly blind to the simplest things."

"So you're saying that they accidentally leave holes that you can only get in doing it the old fashioned way?"

"Yes. You still have to know your stuff, and I am not sure you'd even see them if you were using a datalink."

"Well, you learn something new everyday."

"Please don't sell that information."

"Would I do that?"

"In a second."

"Who is telling you these things about me?"

"Anyone I listen to."

"I'll keep your secret."

"Thank you."

* * *

Salamanca was a beautiful world. One huge ocean. Waikiki consisted of a number of aquatic townships, each one the size of a large town, or a small city. Emiko stood on a hotel room's balcony, looking out over the ocean. She could just make out the highest buildings of the Township 6, Little LA. After Leaving Little Vancouver, Juan had brought her to Township 7, Little Yokohama.

"When its full dark, you can see where the other townships are by their lights," Ree told her.

"You've been here before?" Emiko turned to look at her.

"A few times."

"So, what about this wave I've been hearing about?"

"Give it about twenty minutes."

"So what do we do now?" Emiko looked around at the others in the room. Juan was there, as well as Lilith Blackhand, and Marshall Sharp. He was a tall, thin man, whose skin was stretched tight over his face. Emiko did her best to avoid eye contact with him as she was a little afraid of the Marshall. There were some others there, Charybdis mostly. Most of them were part of the Little Yokohama team. Emiko still did not know which team they were going to put her on.

"We wait," Lilith said. "We wait until they do something, then we stop it."

Emiko wanted to ask how long that might be, but she decided not to. As it was she thought some of the people in the room were thinking her a little useless. Asking more and more questions did not seem the way to improve her standing. Instead she turned back to look out at the ocean.

Some time later she saw something. As first she thought it was a mass of clouds, but then she realized it was something else.

"Oh my," she said quietly.

"There it is," Ree said, coming to stand beside her.

"The wave?"

"The wave."

"So what happens now?"

"Get ready for the ride."

Emiko watched as the huge wave of water came closer, looking bigger. Salamanca's huge moon, Anduril, apparently dragged that wave around the planet once a day. Smaller waves began to wash up against the lowest part of the colony, breaking, spraying the ocean path with water. Break walls rose up against those waves. The water level began to raise, creeping up, putting the lowest levels under a few centimeters of water. Then suddenly the room shook and for a moment Emiko thought that an earthquake had hit.

"They just released the hard anchors," Ree told her.

"Hard anchors?"

"They hold the township tight to the reef, one of the reasons the townships are so steady. Now we float free on the cables."

Emiko looked back down and saw that the water had receded quite a bit, the entire township was floating higher in the water. The water level began to raise again as the forty meter wave got closer and closer. That huge wall of water drew her eyes. The destructive energy in it was impossible to imagine.

"Look," Ree said, pointing.

Emiko looked where she was pointing. After a few moments she saw several dark objects in the water. "What are they?"

"Surf boats."

"Surf boats?"

"Just a sport. They will try to ride that wave. Most of them won't pull it off."

"They'll be killed."

"No. The boats were designed to take it. Tern might be out there."

Emiko shook her head. Waves were breaking over the break walls again. It took her a while to realize that the water level was not raising anymore. The entire township was climbing over the wave, going up with the water level.

It took some time for them to get to the crest, and then there was the huge slope ahead of them that they had to ride down. Her knuckles had gone white from gripping the railing of the balcony. It was so exciting at the same time that it was terrifying.

When it was all over, when the wave had gone on and the hard anchors had once again locked the township tightly to the reef, Emiko stumbled over to one of the couches and fell into it.

"Great ride," Ree said, dropping onto the couch beside her. "I almost want to give one of those surf boats a try."

Emiko was about to say that she wouldn't, when she realized how much fun it might be. "You drive," she said, smiling at Ree.

* * *

Salamanca's economy was driven by tourism and little else. While the water of its ocean was rich in sea life, there was just little need for it. The planet did export some fish off world, but not very much of it. Even the fishing was ultimately tourist related. Hunting the giant crustaceans on the reef, or a working holiday on an old style fishing boat were two popular attractions.

The townships themselves were modelled, to a certain extent, on the cities they were named after. Little Yokohama reminded Emiko a little of certain places in Tokyo where some of the old style of building had been painstakingly reproduced.

She and Ree walked along the tree lined high path, about five meters above the ocean path, enjoying the festival atmosphere. It seemed every night was a festival on little Yokohama. The real festivals made the nightly offerings seem boring by comparison, or so Ree told her.

Emiko had bought a yukata. The outfit gave her a nostalgic feeling as it had been some time since she had last been able to wear one. It was light blue, with a white, floral design and a red obi. She had tired to talk Ree into buying one, but the other woman had not cared much for the style.

Anduril was fully up by that time. The huge moon, or small planet, was covered in white silica and it reflected twice the light that Luna ever did. And it reflected it through an atmosphere that was as so clear it was beautiful.

"Some people think that Anduril is a true lovers moon. Others say that it is the worse," Ree said.

"Why?"

"Few dark places to hide, though that is stupid. What do lovers have to hide from?"

"Disapproval?" Emiko said.

"Hardly a good answer Emi-chan."

"Maybe some people just have a little modesty."

"Are you modest Emi-chan?" Ree asked a she reached out and grabbed Emiko's hand. She spun her about, putting her back against a tree.

"What?" Emiko cried, voice breaking in surprise.

Ree looked at her, putting a hand on Emiko's shoulder to hold her. "Emi-chan, I think I," she said quietly, moving closer to Emiko, "love you"

Emiko's eyes opened wider, then she tired to get away from Ree, but pinned as she was she could not do anything . "Stop it," Emiko said, closing her eyes, certain Ree was going to kiss her.

"You are just too tense Emi-chan."

Surprised, Emiko opened her eyes, saw Ree had backed off a little, was smiling. She shook off Ree's hold and moved a few steps away. Then she turned to face her. "Ree no baka!" she shouted in Japanese, then turned and ran off, her geta clicking loudly.

Ree shook her head, then ran after the girl.

"Emi-chan, it was just a joke," she called after her, laughing.

After a minute Emiko stopped and turned to face Ree. "It wasn't funny."

"Sure it was," Ree threw an arm over Emiko's shoulders, pulling her close, turning her to look out over the water.

"It wasn't."

"You're just too in love with the idea of love," Ree told her.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just what I said Emi-chan. Now shut up, the fireworks will be starting soon."

"Ree-san no baka," Emiko said softly.

* * *

The next day Emiko met the team she had been assigned to. They were working out of township five, Little Murmansk. There were nine other people on the team, though she only had been introduced to the leader, Marshall Kelly Wright.

The Marshall was a petite, pretty woman, who laughed a lot. After Diane and Marshall Sharp, Kelly was a bit of a surprise. Emiko could not picture her as one of the few who brought law to the lawless regions of the Cluster, but from what Diane has said about the woman, she among the best.

"Okay," Kelly said, once they were all seated. "For Miss Miya we will go over everything once again. It will also be a good review," she said, at the same time activating a projector. "Due to the daily tidal wave the townships have been designed to ride the wave. They are anchored to the reef with a two part system. The hard anchors and the cables."

"The hard anchors number one hundred and fifty, and they hold the township tight to the reef, keeping it steady not matter what the weather. They are disengaged when the wave comes and at that point the city is only held by ten cables. The cables wind out, then wind back in when the wave passes by. Does anyone have an questions?"

"How do they wind?" Emiko asked.

"I'm using the wrong terminology here. Each cable is in effect a telescoping pole. There are thousands of tiny motors in each meter of the pole. They control extension and retraction. Understand?"

Emiko nodded.

"Now, we know the Midnight Sun wants to destroy these townships, and there are two, fairly easy, low manpower ways then can do so. One would be to lock the hard anchors and let the townships all be swept by the wave. The only problem with that, is that while it would cause a large number of deaths, it would take two or three hits by that wave to completely destroy any of the townships. On the other hand, cutting the cables after the hard anchors have been released would cause nearly complete destruction."

"What's the latest surveillance tell us?" a woman near the back of the room asked.

"Nothing more than it did yesterday. There is some activity, but it is not conclusive." She looked around before continuing. "So, to keep this from happening, we kill all the Midnight Sun people right after the hard anchors are released."

"Kill?" Emiko said.

"Midnight Sun have a very distressing habit of killing themselves if they are caught or about to be caught. A number of them also manage to take out some others with them. The fact is a dead Midnight Sun member is a safe one. It is a bit hard, but it is how we have to do it."

"While I agree that they are not likely to do anything until after the hard anchors go, and that hitting them then is the best time, what if they aren't going to cut them?" a tall man beside Emiko asked.

"You mean if they set explosives before hand?"

"Yeah."

"If they were planning on doing that, then it is likely that they would not have obtained so much underwater cutting gear. But if they are going to use explosives we take them out there and then."

"Good."

"Okay, let's go over this. Aktin." She looked towards one of the women.

"I'm there to provide heavy fire support. I bring out my Crossbones right after the hard anchors go. I take out any suits they have first, then cause what damage I can, being very careful not to hit the cables," the woman who had spoken earlier said.

"Good. Where's you suit right now?"

"Stashed it in a cave about a kilometre from the site. As long as a giant crab has not set up housekeeping there, I'm good to go."

"All right, Henderson?"

"I've got the hydrolaser, I play sniper, take out anyone who might cause trouble. I've picked out my perch, scouted the area, set up everything."

"Marcus."

"Kill whoever I can."

"Johnson."

"Kill whoever I can."

"Okay, I think Miss Miya can guess the rest of the pattern. Got any scuba training?"

"None," Emiko said.

"Dinse."

"Kill whoever I can," someone said from behind Emiko.

"Yes," she shook her head. "I want you to show Miya here how to use the gear. You got until the practice this afternoon."

"Can do."

"You ever seen one of these?" Kelly asked, picking up a weapon from the table beside her.

"Gyrojet rifle?" Emiko said.

"Close. More like a torpedo rifle. An underwater gyrojet. Can you use it?"

Emiko nodded.

"Good. All right, Miya, Dinse, get the hell out of here."

Emiko stood and turned to see who her teacher was. Behind her, also standing, was a handsome young man. He had short brown hair and light blue eyes. He smiled at her. "Justice Dinse." He held out his hand.

"Miya Emiko desu," she took his hand.

"Pleased to meet you Emiko," he said.

"Get the hell out of here," Kelly repeated. "Chat on your own time."

"Let's go," he kept a grip on her hand and quickly led her from the room.

Emiko followed after him, looking down at their hands. His grip was strong, and his hand dry. She could feel the calluses on his palms. She wanted to pull her hand free, yet for some reason she did not.

"Do you like swimming?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at her.

Emiko found herself staring into his eyes for a moment before she blinked and looked away. "I guess," she said, freeing her hand from his.

"How good of a swimmer are you?" he asked, heading towards the elevator.

"All right I suppose."

"Good starting place. We'll have you ready to go in no time."

* * *

Emiko was very conscious of Justice's hands on her as he checked her over, making sure everything was on right. Part of her wondered if he was not taking a little too long in doing it, and another part was telling that she was being ridiculous. He was just being thorough.

"How does it feel?" he asked, giving a tug on her waist belt.

"Fine," she said.

"Okay, this will be an easy dive. We're going down about five meters, and we'll swim around the entire township."

"Hai." Emiko nodded.

"Now keep an eye out for red lights, they mark the areas where the boat traffic is. At that point we have to swim under the township to bypass it. There are about ten of those areas. The path is marked by bright white lights."

"Okay."

"The computer in your tank controls the air mix, you won't have to worry about that. Keep a watch on the HUD and it will warn you of any problems."

"So all I have to do is kick?"

"That's basically it. Ready?"

"No."

"Good, let's go." He picked up his fins and walked to the dive point.

Emiko sighed as she wondered why she could not have just remained at a computer, then picked up her own swim fins and followed after him.

She was nervous for the first few minutes after going into the water, but as time passed she grew more confident. She really had to do little more than kick her legs and follow after Justice. Once she stopped feeling anxious it actually became fun. The sea was full of beautiful fish, and the sunlight, filtering down through the water, cast odd bands on light on everything. When they had to go under the township things changed slightly. It got darker, and they had to go deeper. She did not like that as much.

They were halfway around, and under the township again, when a warning light went up on the HUD warning her that her air tank was low. She almost swam for the surface, but took a moment to think about it. In the operation she would not be able to just swim to the surface. Her mask had a com system in it, usually controlled via a datalink, but it had a manual control on the side. She pushed it and said, "Justice I'm low on air."

He did not respond, just kept swimming.

She kicked hart, caught up to him, moving a little in front of him. She waved her hand then tapped her mask and then breather, hoping it would know what she meant.

She saw his lips moving behind his mask.

Emiko shook her head.

Justice pulled out a small cable, plugged one end into his face mask and handed the other to her. She plugged it into her own.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I'm almost out of air and my com does not work."

"Air first. Has the back up supply kicked in?"

"No."

"Okay, you better do it manually. The controls are on your belt at your left hip. Slide the dark grey cover to the side, then tap the blue button three times."

"Okay," Emiko nodded as she did what he said. "Nothing happened," she told him. She was beginning to feel a little scared. She had a little more than a minute of air left.

"Okay, reset the computer, tap the same button twice and then hold if down."

She did that. Her hud went dark for a second, then came back on line. When it did she saw she still had almost an hour of air left. "It says I've got an hour," she told him.

"Okay, then everything is okay. Computer mistake."

"Does that happen often?"

"No. Usually only when your instructor programs it to do so as a test."

"What? You mean it was a false alarm?"

"You catch on fast."

"You…" she started to say but he pulled the cable free and swam off. Emiko watched him for a moment, then went after him.

* * *

After they completed the circuit of the township, Justice got them fresh tanks and they swam down thirty meters to the reef. The sides of the township sloped inwards for nearly twenty meters, then ended in a flat bottom. The two of them sat on the reef, under the township, and talked, or more to the point he gave her more instruction.

It was strange being down there. It was well lit, hundreds of lights ensured that, but it was so alien. There were other divers there as well, and a few times she saw one of the mechs that were used to hunt the giant crabs.

She asked him about them, if the hunting mechs might be used by the Midnight Sun, but he told her not to worry, it was taken care of.

When they returned to the surface he spent the rest of the time showing her how to use all the equipment, having her go through various emergency drills. By the time he was leading her back to the rest of the team, Emiko felt a little more confident about diving. If she had a choice she would still rather stay on the surface, but that she did not was not so much of a worry.

A thought occurred to her. "Justice-san."

"What?"

"What will it be like being underwater when the wave comes?"

"A bit rough, it causes some nasty currents, but you should be all right. Just don't panic if you get caught up in one of the currents. Keep a clear head, watch the HUD, and head up a little. You may not clear the current right away, but at least you won't have to worry about having your head bashed open on the reef."

"What if you just kept being dragged along?"

"What, around the whole planet?" he laughed. "Don't worry, that won't happen. Longest I ever heard anyone being pulled for is two kilometers. They can be strong and tricky, but they aren't long lived. I've been told it is actually a fun ride."

"Probably some people who actually go looking for them," Emiko said, remembering the surf boats.

"That is true. Here we are." He stopped in front of a door then knocked.

A moment later the door was opened by Kelly. "Just in time, get in."

Once the both of them were in, Kelly closed and locked the door. They were in a large room, a gym, and the rest of the team was there.

"Okay, places," Kelly called out.

Emiko watched as everyone moved around the room, most of them lying down on the floor. She noticed the Henderson had stacked several chairs and was lying atop them.

"This is how we are going to set up down there," Kelly told Emiko. "Of course we are not to scale." she smiled. "You'll be with me, over here," she tapped her foot against the floor. "We are about ten meters from the north part of the anchor ring. We can get to this spot through an underwater cave that has an opening a hundred meters that way." She pointed and then said, "Lie down."

Emiko lay down where she was told and then waited.

"Okay, they are down here, hard anchors have just gone off, we've got currents battering us a little by this point but we're all secured well enough. Aktin."

"Boom, boom, Troubadour, or whatever, taken out of the picture."

"Henderson."

"Picked out the likeliest leader or the most dangerous looking person down there. Zap. Gone. Form then on a take out their gear."

"Everyone else."

"Acquire targets and take down," one said.

"Wham," someone else said.

"Pop them as fast as I can."

There were more, Kelly listened for a few seconds, then put up her hand to silence them. "All right, they are thrown into disarray, they are diving for cover, or maybe they just want to get their job done. Now things get tricky. Do it."

Emiko watched as four of them, including Justice moved into the center.

"Seek and destroy," Kelly said, looking down at Emiko. They go in and clean the mess up. At this point you are fire support for Margyndar there," she pointed at a woman with short blonde hair. "She calls for fire, you send it. Don't shoot in any other case, unless you absolutely have no choice. Okay," she addressed everyone, "we've taken most of them out, neutralized their tools. At this point they might get stupid so be careful. All right, back to your starting places."

Once everyone was back in place she moved into the center. "What if we have civilians in the target area?"

"Trouble," Henderson said.

"Damn right. At that point, as much as most of you might not like it, you die before they do. Only Henderson gets to stay safe as he continues to blow the hell out of their gear. What is it Miya?" She looked over at Emiko who had raised her hand.

"What if they got a lot of people down there?"

"We don't think they will. They will move into position about a two or three minutes before the hard anchors release. If they hang around too long they are likely to get noticed. That sort of operation does not work well with a lot of people. That said, we might be wrong. You might move into your hideyhole and find a Midnight Sun nasty in there already. If that is the case, kill them then continue as before."

"What if it is really bad?" Emiko asked.

"Then we pop the sea stingers and everyone dies, including us."

"Sea stingers?"

"Little torps, home in on heat and a few other things, then they explode into a ten meter globe of streamlined, razor wedges. Makes a mess of soft targets, hard targets are fine, so we don't damage the cables."

Emiko nodded after a moment. She did not like the sound of that, but it made sense.

"Okay, let's take this from the top. Aktin."

* * *

Thirty minutes before the evening wave came around, Kelly had all her team in place under little Murmansk. She lay in the small cave she had found, Emiko beside her. Emiko was looking around, remembering the practice from a few hours before, managing to figure out where everyone was.

All the teams were down, under their townships. While all signs indicated that nothing was going to happen, they took no chances. Emiko watched as plant debris and other things flashed by out in front of her, pulled along by the currents.

Kelly tapped her on the shoulder, then handed her one end of a communication cable. Emiko plugged it into her mask.

"How's your visibility?"

"Not good."

"You can adjust the mask to filter out some of the effects of the water. It would do it automatically if you had a datalink. The manual controls are under the chin guard."

Emiko nodded as she put her hand to the recessed switches and began experimenting.

"The rest of us will be using camera probes to extend our field of vision, but as you don't have a datalink…"

"I understand."

"You're going to have to do the best you can with limited visibility. As long as they leave the lights on you should be all right, but if they shut them down you'll have some problems."

"What do I do then?"

"Hope for the best."

"Of course," Emiko said.

Kelly continued to give her a run down on the operation, pointing things out, explaining exactly what Emiko would be doing. She had finished by the time the hard anchors released. Emiko watched it all. Seeing it happen was different from having it explained to her. It gave her a greater appreciation on how hard it must have been to design the townships to survive that wave.

When it was all over, the township firmly secured to the reef once more, Kelly led her down the tunnel and out the cave mouth a hundred meters away.

* * *

The next day went like the first. Kelly gave Emiko the diving lesson instead of Justice though. From the looks of Justice he would have preferred to do it again. Emiko thought she understood how he felt.

Kelly was a better teacher though, and she combined the diving lesson with instruction in shooting. By the time they were all under the township again, waiting on the wave, Emiko felt she could do her job well enough. Maybe.

* * *

"Emiko," Justice called to her. "Where are you going?"

"Little Yokohama," she told him.

"Mind if I tag along?"

"Not at all." Emiko smiled at him. She had not had a chance to spend any time with him at all during the day.

"Great. So, what are we going to do?"

"Enjoy the festival," Emiko told him as she walked from the room.

"Enjoyment is good," he said, following her out.

* * *

"Is Ree-san here?" Emiko asked Juan..

"Still out, should be back soon. Juan Varis," Juan said to Justice, extending his hand.

"Justice Dinse," Justice took Juan's hand. "I'm a friend of Emiko's. We're on the same team."

"Nice to meet you," Juan let go of his hand. "Going to wait?" he asked Emiko.

"No, maybe I'll stop by later. Come on," she said to Justice, heading out of the room.

"See you later," Justice said to Juan.

"No doubt," Juan said, watching them go. Justice Dinse, he thought, the name sounded a little familiar. For a moment he told himself that he was prying, but then he reached for the phone. Emiko was, ultimately, his responsibility after all.

* * *

"Hey, Juan," Ree called as she came into the room. "I saw Emi-chan get into a cab with some guy. Who is he?"

"That was Justice Dinse," Juan said, putting down the phone. "One of our Charybdis allies."

"Oh? Know anything about him?"

"According to a friend, he is the sort with a girl in every port. According to this friend he is also a bit of a wolf."

"Why are you telling me this."

"No reason."

"I think I'll go for a walk."

"I thought you might."

"This has nothing to do with Emi-chan," she told him.

Juan only nodded.

* * *

"What a beautiful night," Justice said, putting an arm over Emiko's shoulders.

"It is," she said, leaning into him. Her heart was beating fast, she could almost feel it in her ears. Justice was very handsome, and kind, and exciting. He knew the right things to say, and when to say them and made her feel special."

"Almost as beautiful as you," he told her.

Emiko stiffened slightly, suddenly conscious that the face she wore was not really her own. She told herself she was being ridiculous. It really didn't matter.

"Did I say something wrong?" Justice asked.

"No, not at all. Just a chill." She moved even closer to him. "Thank you."

"Come on," he said.

"Where?"

"You'll see." He moved away from her and grabbed her hands, pulling her along.

"It's late."

"Not yet."

She smiled and followed after him, walking beside him. She held onto his hand, feeling good. It was exciting to be out late with a handsome young man. She found herself comparing Justice to Match and felt that Justice was the better man. Match had been too cynical she decided.

"Here," Justice said, leading her into the area around a darkened shrine. There were tall bushes around it so it was screened from the path.

"What are we doing here?"

"What we have wanted to for about two hours now," he leaned forward and kissed her. Emiko felt a small thrill go through her and relaxed into his arms. His hands slid down her back, resting on her behind. She was a little shocked by that, but did not make him stop.

After a while he broke the kiss, smiling at her. "Let's make love," he said to her.

"What?"

"It's a beautiful out here, the air is warm and we want this," he told her, kissing her again.

Emiko did not know what to say. She had enjoyed her time with him, but was not sure if she wanted to move beyond kissing, and she was not completely sure about the kissing either.

"I'm not going to pressure you Emiko," he said, pulling her close to him. "All you have to say is no and I'll leave. I just don't want to give up this chance, it might be the last we ever have."

He was right, Emiko realized. They could both be dead by tomorrow.

Kissing her once more, he gently backed her up until her legs hit a bench. She sat down, looking up at him. He smiled at her and began to loosen his belt.

"Wait, here?" she asked.

"Think about it," he told her. "It's dangerous. It's exciting," he told her, pulling his belt loose.

Emiko thought about that. There was something thrilling about it all, she thought. The danger of discovery maybe. She watched as he dropped his pants then pushed his underwear down. She suddenly found the buttons of her blouse fascinating as she began to loosen them.

It was going to be her first time, she realized. It would be special. It was supposed to be special. She was not so sure if she wanted it to be on a bench. Still, it did not matter where it was, as long as the feelings were true. It seemed like a good argument but she was not sure if she was convinced. She was thinking of telling Justice she had changed her mind when she suddenly heard choking sounds and a familiar voice.

"Emi-chan, what are you doing?" Ree asked disapprovingly.

Emiko looked up. Ree was standing there, holding Justice by the collar of his shirt. She had pulled him back and he would have fallen if not for the fact she held him up. He was too unbalanced to stand, and he was pulling on the shirt to keep it from choking him completely.

"Ree-san?" Emiko looked at her.

"Really Emi-chan, what were you thinking," she backed up, pulling Justice with her. "Mr. Dinse, it was a pleasure meeting you, I hope you don't think me rude but I have to ask you to leave."

"No problem," Justice managed to get out.

"Such an understanding young man. I can see why Emi-chan likes you. We have to get together sometime," she told him, spinning him around and pushing him from the grounds of the shrine.

From beyond the shrine Emiko heard some screams and laughter. Justice had not had a chance to pull his pants or underwear up. She was torn between the feeling sorry for him and the humour of the situation. She was not for long though. She started to laugh.

"Emi-chan, what were you going to do?" Ree asked her.

"Who do you think you are?" Emiko tried to sound angry, but she was still laughing. "My mother?"

"Your mother?" Ree said, walking over to sit beside Emiko. "No, I'm not the mothering type. Your older sister I think. If fact, from now on, call me oneechan."

"Ree-san," Emiko said, deciding Ree was just trying to be silly.

"O nee chan," Ree said, stressing each syllable.

Emiko rolled her eyes. "Fine, oneechan."

"Good. Now Emi-chan, just what were you planning on doing with that young man?"

"Have sex."

"So what were you doing here instead of a very nice hotel room?"

"It was more exciting out here." Even as she said it she realized it sounded, well, stupid.

"Emi-chan," Ree shook her head. "Do up your blouse. Did you think it was exciting?"

"Well, after Justice pointed it out," Emiko said, doing up her blouse.

"You are such a little twit," Ree said, shaking her head. "It was your first time, and don't tell my otherwise. It was also your first time with a new person. You don't need any more excitement. Let me tell you this. You only do stuff like this when your desperate for sex, which does happen, or when you need something to remind you of the excitement of that first time."

"Are you giving me a lesson?"

"Yes. I'm sure you know all the mechanics and stuff, so I won't waste time on that. I'm going to teach you about enjoying sex."

"What?"

"Someone has to and it is an older sisters duty to see that her younger sister is properly educated in these matters."

"Do you ever listen to what you say?"

"Be quiet. First thing, what was the first thing Mr. Dinse did when you had decided that you were going to get physical."

"I don't know, directed me the bench I guess."

"Acceptable, barely. Then what did he do?"

"Well, he dropped his pants and…"

"Wrong!"

"What?"

"Completely the wrong thing to do Emi-chan."

"Well, what is the right thing?"

"He should have been undressing you. He should have been thinking about you. That he dropped his pants tells you exactly what he was thinking of. If the first thing they do is drop their pants, walk away."

"I see," Emiko said slowly, wondering if Ree was drunk.

"Emi-chan, I'm serious. Your partner should be thinking of your pleasure and you should be thinking of theirs. If the first thing some man does is drop his pants, his thinking is messed up. Now what did you do?"

Emiko began to laugh softly. "I looked down at my blouse because I was afraid I'd start laughing."

"When all you can feel when looking at the man you are going to make love to is the need to laugh, that is another good sign you should just get up and walk away."

"Hai oneechan."

"Good. Let's go, I'll buy you dinner." Ree got to her feet.

"Hai," Emiko said as she stood.

"It looks like I am going to have to teach you a lot," Ree said, looking at Emiko. "Piloting and sex. As if I didn't have enough to do already."

"I'm really sorry," Emiko said sarcastically.

"Ah well. Where to start?," Ree wondered aloud as they left the shrine. "What if we hire a professional for your first time?"

"Ree-san!" Emiko said.

"Oneechan!"

* * *

Henderson was waiting for Kelly when she and Emiko surfaced. Kelly had given her another lesson and ran her though a few emergency drills.

"What is it?" Kelly asked him as she climbed up onto the dock.

"News just came in. SAC forces hit Ironsun about two hours ago. Looks like the ODF might be retaliating soon."

"Wonderful," Kelly pulled off her air tank. "Any idea on numbers yet?"

"No."

"So, this stupid war has finally started."

Henderson did not say anything. He only nodded.

"Any change in our plans?"

"Not according to Captain Blackhand."

"Okay, then let's continue as always. Practice run through in two hours."

* * *

Emiko sat down at the computer, to check on things before then next practice. She had been checking the situation in the main security computer every time she had had a chance. So far there had been nothing of any real interest. It was different this time. There had been an illegal entry a few hours before. Very clean, but she had left a few trip wires of her own. Quickly she searched through the files, trying to find out what they had done, if anything. Then she found it.

"Marshall Wright," she called out.

"What is it?" Kelly asked, leaning into the room.

"They've been in the computer."

"What did they do?" Kelly asked, moving up beside Emiko.

"Set up a false feed. Everything will look fine no matter what is happening."

"About what you would expect. When did they put it in?"

"Two hours, ten minutes ago."

"How long can something like that stay hidden?"

"In this system? Fourteen hours, tops."

"So it will be today."

"They could deactivate it before it is found. It might just be a test run."

"It might, but it might not. Call up Blackhand, give her the news, then get to the training area."

"Hai," Emiko said, picking up the phone.

* * *

"Listen up," Kelly said. "We have reason to believe that it happens today so we'll cancel the rehearsal stuff. Aktin, get the hell out of here. I want you in your suit and ready to go in the hour. And be subtle, if they are ready to go they probably have surveillance set up."

"Right," she said getting up and running for the door. She almost hit Emiko who was coming in. "Good luck Emiko," she said as she left.

"The rest of us, get your kit in shape then get some rest. We'll be going under in two hours. Any questions?" There were none. "Then get to work."

Kelly walked over to Emiko, "Get your stuff, let's check it together."

Emiko nodded and ran off to the lockers where their gear was kept. She returned to Kelly then they both sat down and looked through all the equipment.

The combat kit was different from the most of the gear she had been using before. The wetsuit was not brightly coloured, but a neutral grey. The tanks heavy duty, with some armour plating, and the mask had armour glass. The rifle was not a hunting model but a heavy military job with an extended clip.

"Okay," Kelly said as she looked over the gear. "Everything here is what you are used to, the diving stuff is a bit heavier, remember that when you have to move, but other than that there are not too many differences. The weapon though," she picked up the rifle. "Is something else. You heard me mention the sea stingers before."

"Yes."

"This is firing the same mini torps. You just have to get it close to the target and they are pretty dead. Once we get our people in there you switch clips. This one," she picked up a second clip, "is loaded with a standard round."

"Wakatta," Emiko nodded.

"Good. Okay, this all looks good. Go over it yourself then get some rest."

"I'm not sure I can," Emiko said. She realized that she was going into combat and would be expected to kill people.

"Try," Kelly smiled and put a hand on Emiko's shoulder. Then she left and began to make her rounds.

* * *

Half an hour before the hard anchors were to release three people showed up, swimming around the area. Kelly told Emiko they were scouts. They gave the area closest to the anchoring site a thorough search, but the area farther out only got a cursory scan.

Five minutes before the hard anchors were to release the rest of the people came in. They used sea sleds, coming in fast. With them was a beat up, old Mason that was fitted with a few weapons. Kelly and Emiko watched them set up.

"See that group by cable five?" Kelly asked.

"Yes."

"They are yours. Good spray into that area will do it."

"I understand," Emiko said. Her throat had gone dry and she had to swallow a few times to moisten it.

"If it helps, tell yourself that they are all terrorists who are willing to kill the twenty five thousand people above us."

Emiko nodded.

The hard anchors released. Emiko watched them as they went, paying more attention to them even than she had before. Then she shifted her eyes to the group of people by the cable. They had activated their gear and were beginning to work on the cable. She centred her sights in the middle of the group and gently squeezed the trigger, remembering everything that Diane and Kelly had taught her.

For a moment she could not bring herself to kill them. Then she thought about all the people above her.

"Sorry," Emiko whispered as she fired.

* * *

Ree watched as the Troubadour went over, several gaping holes in the chest, air bubbles raising from it. All around her, her team was finishing off the terrorists. They had not come prepared for a fight. That was obvious. It was too bad for them that a fight was what they were getting.

"We've got an unknown suit approaching Township 1," she heard over her radio.

"This is unit 7," Ree said into her com. "Do you need assistance?"

"Negative 7, sit tight. Unit 1 will intercept."

"Understood," she said.

It was probably just an ODF unit, or a civilian suit. She was sure the pilot of the suit under Little Liverpool could handle it. She turned her mech and took out one of the sleds and its pilot with a careless seeming sweep of the suit's huge fist.

"I'm moving in on the suit." She heard the pilot of unit 1 say. "Not sure what it is."

Ree moved forward, amongst the forest of the hard anchors and cables. She kicked through a wall of reef that several of the terrorists were using as cover. She probably killed most of them, though any that were alive died in the crossfire they were suddenly exposed to.

"It's fast." She heard the pilot say, It all seemed so far away. "Moving to intercept, wait, I think…" the rest was lost in swearing, then silence.

Ree stopped, the battle around her all but over. "Unit 1, unit 1, come in."

There was nothing.

"We've got a suit on Liverpool. It has just opened fire on civilian targets," someone said.

"Fuck," Ree said. "Sharp, you don't need me, I'm out of here."

"Good hunting," she heard Sharp say.

Ree said nothing else, just kicked the hydrojets up full, making for the surface. The Crossbones was not too fast in the water, its ascent was tortuously slow for Ree. She heard another pilot go against the suit, a scream and nothing more.

As soon as she exploded out of the water she hit the main thrusters. They roared to life, the Crossbones moving across the water at the speed of sound. In seconds she jerked it around, braking, and then dropped it onto one of the dock areas of Little Liverpool. A moment later she took to the air again as the area where she had just been exploded.

She spun the suit, going into a corkscrew, avoiding the first wave of missiles swarming at her, the second she destroyed with the chest mounted phalanx gun. She was in close to the other suit then. It was a black monster, frightening in its countenance. Ree found herself pushing back in her seat, almost as if she was trying to get away from it. She gritted her teeth and leaned forward into the controls.

She had only seen pictures of that type of suit before. They hardly did the Harbinger justice. It was truly a terrifying machine. She was the best though. She told herself that over and over again as she brought up her gauss rifle and began firing at it.

She only managed a glancing hit before the other pilot was moving, leaping into the air, opening up on her with arm mounted cannons. Ree managed to avoid the blast and felt guilty for doing so. The plasma state gauss rounds had started numerous fires.

"Bastard," Ree screamed, moving at it at full speed, keeping up a steady rate of fire, pushing it back.

* * *

Grendel had brought his Harbinger down onto Little Liverpool just to add to the destruction, not that it was needed. With the wave coming all the townships were doomed. He had not expected resistance, but he had handled the first two suits easily enough. He had been trying to raise one of the groups under the townships when the third suit had shown up. He had hardly given it any attention, thinking he would destroy it as easily as the others. That quickly changed.

He now found himself backing his suit away from the other, trying to avoid its fire. The other pilot was very good and he found himself in danger. He hit the suits thrusters and took to the air, opening up with the scatter guns, tearing into the ground where the Crossbones had been-setting more fires.

He had never hoped to hit the other suit with the barrage, it had simply been something to distract the pilot. He fired off the nova boosters for just a moment, rocketing under the other suit. As he went by he reached up and grabbed the lower, port thruster vane of the suit's thruster pack.

He pulled it from the air and hurled into one of the buildings. The other suit punched all the way through the structure and the building collapsed.

Grendel ran his suit forward, lifting the suits huge arms, ready to slash into the other suit with the rippers.

Amazingly the other pilot had their suit up and was waiting for him. In it's hands was what Grendel could only think of as a giant chainsaw.

* * *

Ree cursed loudly as she forced the Crossbones to its feet. The alarms were flashing at her, trying to get her attention. She ignored them as she yanked the chain cutter from its mounts. She was going to rip that thing apart, she decided, the powerful electric motor coming on, the huge chainsaw shaking in the Crossbones' hands.

From the sudden change in the other suit's bearing she could tell she had taken the other pilot by surprise. She sprang forward, planning on cutting it from right shoulder to left hip. Then another alarm went off. The thrust systems on the lower, port thruster vane shut down. Now she was the one off balance.

She had to change her attack, moving the heavy, clumsy, chain cutter up to block the blade on the other suit's left arm. She was pleased to see her weapon cut right through the other. Unfortunately she could not bring the chain cutter around fast enough to stop the blade on the right arm from cutting into her left shoulder.

Ree swung her suit around, trying to catch the other suit as it passed by. The huge chain cutter once again proved to hard to manoeuvre and all she did was take off some paint.

Stupid weapon, she thought, leaping after the Harbinger. When the Midnight Sun suit turned she cut its right hand, and the blade as well, off.

* * *

Grendel stumbled back, he had not expected the other suit to move in so fast. His suit's right hand, the ripper and part of the barrel for the scatter gun spun off, crashing into a building. He flipped the safety off and opened fire on the other suit with the chest mounted cannon. The other suit took several hits and was knocked back. He moved forward, laying down a burst of fire with the remaining scatter gun.

Again the other pilot surprised him. Giving up the huge chain saw, the other pilot rushed him, grabbing his suits arms, trying to push him back.

Grendel smiled. Only and idiot would try to fight the Harbinger hand to hand. Laughing, he began to force it back.

* * *

That was stupid, Ree realized as the suit in front of her began to push her back. The left arm broke the hold, then it grabbed her suit's wrist. When she tried to break free it pounded at her with its right stump.

An alarm began to shrill, the whine almost ear piercing. A moment later her suit's right arm was torn from its socket. Suddenly free, she tried to move out of the way, but the Harbinger, using her own suit's arm like a club, knocked her back into a building. It opened up with the chest cannon, cratering the building where moments before she had been. It was nice to see that her suit was still fast enough.

Diving to the side she retrieved the gauss rifle she had earlier dropped. Swinging it around she managed to get a burst off at the other suit before it kicked the weapon from her suit's hand.

* * *

Grendel put his suit's foot back on the ground as he brought the scatter gun up. He was about to fire when something hit him from behind, knocking him forward, costing him his aim.

Another suit was behind him, not even a real combat unit but a Troubadour outfitted with weapons. Normally he would have thought it a minor annoyance, but he taken a lot of damage already and knew he was not in the best condition. When he saw the Crossbones had got back to its feet and had readied its heat sabre, he knew it was time to go.

Part of him wanted to stay, to fight to his death, but the Nemyss had told him that he must survive at all costs, his work not done.

Grendel was angry as he took to the air, hitting the boosters. He did not like loosing and he did not like failure.

* * *

Ree watched as the other suit took off. A moment later the boosters in its legs fired up. It was gone before she knew it.

"Unit 7, you all right?" the pilot of the Troubadour called.

"Just peachy," she said, looking around at all the destruction. Damn Midnight Sun, she thought angrily. Next time she met one of those ugly suits she was not going to be so nice. "Let's get out of here."

"I'm with you," the other pilot said and the Troubadour suddenly dropped into the water. Ree remained amidst the burning buildings for a moment, then followed the other suit under the waves.

* * *

"Juan, has anyone ever told you that you are a bastard?" Miki Vels asked.

"Lots of people."

"I can't believe you put my cities in danger. Do you know how many people are dead?"

"Sixty two. Some would say that that is quite conservative by Midnight Sun standards. It is still too many. We did not count on the Harbinger."

"That makes me feel so much better, knowing that you did not plan to let all those people die. I should have you arrested."

"Why don't you?"

"Because there are a large number of dead terrorists under my townships, and I happen to think the only good member of the Midnight Sun is a dead member."

"So you forgive me?"

"Forgive is a fucking strong word considering that 62 people are dead. But I am willing to assume you had everyone's best interests in mind. Now, seeing as this in you, what is it you want for saving this colony?"

"An endorsement."

"What?"

"You'll understand when the time comes. When that time comes, you tell everyone we were the ones who saved Waikiki."

"We?"

"You'll understand when the time comes."

"You are usually not so confusing."

"This time I am. I have my reasons."

"Okay. If I can figure out what the hell you are talking about, I'll do what you say."

"Thanks, that's all I am asking for."

"Whatever it is."

"I have to run now Miki."

"Where are you going?"

"To hide from the ODF people and your security. I can't ask you to protect us. You can't get caught up in this."

"Then go, and if you're caught, I won't do thing one to help you," she said and watched him go. Why do you have to be so damn handsome she thought. She would have an easier time saying no to him if he was not so attractive.

Shaking her head she turned her attention to the damage report. Juan was right about one thing, by Midnight Sun standards the damage was pretty minor.

* * *

"What's up Emi-chan?" Ree took a seat beside Emiko. "You've been looking like you lost your best friend, or your best friend slept with the man you wanted, since you got back."

"Sorry Ree-san…"

"Oneechan."

"Sorry oneechan. I just never killed anyone before."

"Poor Emi-chan," Ree put an arm over her shoulders and pulled her close. "It's going to be all right."

"Does it ever get easier?"

"It does, which is the sad part," Ree told her. "Welcome to the war."

* * *

Closing Credits Stay by Lisa Loeb

* * *

**Game Stuff**

**Character Profiles**

**Emiko Miya**

Student(Computer hacker, Starblade Battalion)

Description: 158cm, 56kg, 17 years old, long black hair, brown eyes with green flecks.

Quote: "I wish there was another way to do this." (said just before doing it)

Emiko does not live up to anyone's image of the brave hero. She is quiet, polite and modest. Still, there is a core of bravery running through her, mostly brought out by desperation. She is a computer genius, even with the rather large handicap of not having a datalink. She strongly believes in the Gaian philosophy, but also has the ability to look beyond it. Odd for a girl with her back ground. One would think she would either be a die heard Gaian or have completely rejected the belief.

Close to all her family, she cares for her mother even though she (her mother) is embarrassed by Emiko. She also thinks much of her father, even though he is often away from home. She adores her older brother Makoto.

Stats Skills

Attractiveness 8 Personal Grooming 2

Body Type 5 Wardrobe+Style 2

Cool 6 Persuasion+Fast talk 1

Empathy 7 Human Perception 2

Intelligence 9 Social 4

Education 9 Expert Biology 2

Luck 7 Chemistry 2

MA 6 Math 2

Reflexes 7 Language English 5

Tech 9 Programming 8

Blade 1

HTH 1

Athletics 1

Zero G 1

Basic Repair 4

Jury Rig 3

The skills are from the very beginning of the story. By Episode 7 she has added some combat skills and increased a few of the others.

**Ryu Abe**

Gaian Special Agent, plant in the Tokyo Police department.

Description: 175cm, 78kg, 48 years old, thinning brown hair, brown eyes.

Quote: "I don't care about the rules. I have a job to do."

Notes: Ryu saw much of the destruction of the earth first hand. He lived on the outside for a time, soon realizing that the Earth was a mess and too many people were just fouling the situation even more. He returned to society as a fanatic. A driven man, a blunt weapon. This fanaticism was recognized by some higher ups in the USSA government and he was brought into the fold of what might be called a pre-inner circle.

Ryu has no family left. There are few people he cares about. Threats to the Earth, these days anyone or thing the Inner Circle points him at, are dealt with quickly and fatally. He likes his partner Sam Colt but feels that he does not take things seriously enough.

Important Stats and Skill: BODY 8 (10), COOL 9, REF 9, Interrogation 7, Intimidate 8, Streetwise 6, Awareness 6, Hand Gun 8, Datalink, Nanobodies, Musculoskeletal Reinforcement.

**Sea Stinger**

WA -1/ Range 38meters/ Damage 5hits/Shots 100/Cost 30cp

The Sea Stinger system fits inside a barrel about the size of an oil drum. It is often set up like a mine, left in place, or part of a hardened complex's defence perimeter. It is quite an effective system with a hundred mini-torpedoes being released in a fraction of a second. The mini torps home in on their targets (Smart 1, Skill 8) then explode into a ten meter globe of razor wedges (Blast Radius 1).

Even if the torps do not hit their targets they are programmed to explode even if they get close, with the blast radius and the amplifying effect water has on concussive force, close counts.

To bring it in line with the treaties on land mines and other such systems, all the torps explode once they have run out of fuel. This ensures that no explosives are left around to cause trouble later, and often takes out more targets.

All the materials used in the Sea Stinger are biodegradable and, other than the explosions, the weapons system has minimal environmental impact.


	8. Episode 8

**A Story of the Starblade Battalion**

"Oniichan, gomen na sai"

Episode 8a (2180.06.15)

by Shawn Hagen

* * *

Starblade Battalion is the Property of Games.

* * *

Opening Credits- Talking Heads, Life During War Time Version.

* * *

"Arisu-san, see you," Keiko called out as she and the others left the school.

"Later," Alice said, waving to them. She took off her shoes and put them in the shoe locker, removing her outdoor shoes at the same time. She dropped them into the lowered tiled area, the genkan for outside shoes, then stepped down, sliding her feet into her waiting shoes. After kicking them against the floor to get them fully on, she walked out of the school.

The rest of her friends were heading off to one of the malls. A few days ago Yamoto Miko, an idol singer, had appeared at her concert sporting a SAC flight jacket. Now it seemed such jackets were going to be the fashion choice. Keiko and the others were hoping the malls had received those jackets.

Alice would have gone, but she had some other things to take care. As she was walking towards the gate she spotted Yuki and a few others girls. Yuki no longer spent time with Alice and the others, mainly because Alice refused to talk to her.

Alice was certain the Emiko was innocent. Some of the others were not so sure either way, but Yuki had no doubts about Emiko's guilt. If that was not bad enough, she had actually lied to the reporters, painting a very unflattering picture of Emiko. It was petty and vindictive and Alice had made it quite clear that she wanted nothing more to do with the other girl.

If Yuki cared, she did not show it. She had found something new to occupy her time. The military.

Alice did not know how it started, but an idea had began filtering through the high schools; that any third year student who was interested could enlist in the SAC for the duration of the war, receiving credit and being allowed to write their university entrance examinations after the war was over.

It was not official policy, yet, but the concept had gone over very well with many. Yuki was one of those.

Every day she and several other girls, all sporting short, practical, shoulder length haircuts, went to one of the community centres where simple classes in military protocol were given by over zealous teachers.

Alice wondered what some of them might do if they really had the chance to enlist. Right now, with it being only a possibility, it was an acceptable distraction from school and the pressures of a third year student. She really could not see most of them in the military.

She watched as Yuki and the others rounded the school gate, soon gone. Alice followed, but turned to opposite way at the gate, walking to the station. The trip home was a little lonely. Every day it reminded her how much she missed Emiko. Emiko had probably never realized that Alice thought of her as her best friend. Now she was gone and Alice had no idea where she was, or even if she was still alive.

Under a cloud of unpleasant thoughts, she shuffled from the station to home.

No one was there when she got to her apartment, not that she had expected anyone to be. Her parents were still at work and there was no one else. She envied Emiko for her older brother. Being an only child seemed so lonely at times. She often wondered about life in the Pleiades where people sometimes had three or even four children.

Slipping out of her shoes, she stepped out of the genkan and up into the apartment. She turned around to check the mail slot and was surprised to find something there. Hard copy letters were something of a novelty. She was even more surprised to find it was addressed to her.

She held it for a moment, wondering it if might be possible. It would be so like her. She tore it open and found it was indeed from Emiko.

Alice ran to her small bed room, shut the door and then locked it. She felt a little ridiculous, there was no one home and it was not like anyone would see the letter, but she was nervous.

Flopping down onto her bed, she began to read.

Emiko was annoyingly vague about what she was up to, where she was and who she was with. She spent most of her time in the letter working her way around giving any such information. As bad as that was, Alice did not mind. Her friend was alive and safe and that was all that really mattered.

Unfortunately Emiko had given Alice no way to get in contact with her. Alice wished she could talk to Emiko, if only through the exchange of letters. She reread it a few times just to make sure she was not missing anything, then put the letter back in the envelope and hid it in one of her books.

* * *

Takashi read the report about the attacks on Ironsun and Gravesend and the retaliatory strike on Gamma 4. From the SAC accounts they had done a lot of damage to Ironsun and had taken almost none at Gamma 4. Takashi knew enough history to be wary of any such statements. He also had several sources who had given him a clearer picture of what had happened.

Neither side had come out well from those attacks. The loss in life had been too high for both. The first real battles of the war.

While that information interested Takashi, he was more concerned with the goings on on Earth. A number of strange disappearances, kidnappings and deaths had occurred all over the planet. The authorities were not saying much, other than it was under investigation and in many of the cases they were laying blame on agents from the Pleiades.

It sounded plausible, but closer looks at things, with the help from his sources, made a lot of the kidnappings look more like rescues.

Some rumors had come his way that suggested that a third group had joined the war. No one he knew was quite sure what to make of it or what this alleged third group's agenda might be. He had heard that the Ravagers were up to something, possibly involved in whatever it was that was happening. If that was true he might be getting a clearer picture soon.

Takashi turned to his computer and looked through the list of missing or dead. They were a varied lot, nothing that really tied them all together. There were some small groupings though that peaked his interest. Journalists, and not just any journalists, but the ones who were controversial. The ones that took what might be considered anti USSA stances. Or pro Pleiades.

There might be a story there, he decided. A dangerous one to look into of course, but maybe all the more important for that. He might very well end up on the list he was looking at if he was not careful. It was, as far as he was concerned, part of the job though. He also felt a little guilty about what had happened to Emiko and felt it would be wrong for him to back away from a little danger.

I wonder where she is, he thought, turning in his chair. He had been told that she was sent to the Pleiades and was now likely living with some family out on some farm, perfectly safe.

* * *

"Just what exactly happened on Waikiki?" Barnabas Richter asked the man beside him.

"We're still not sure," Paul King said as he handed Barnabas a five iron.

"That is not an answer I want," he said, taking the golf club and looking down at the ball.

Barnabas was the Director of Solingen, part of the Planetary Board of Directors. He was also in Solingen's pocket as it were. He had spent years helping them build up the power they needed and now, with things coming to fruition, he did not need independent groups operating in the cluster. Solingen's board of directors did not want it.

"I'm sorry," Paul said.

"Why haven't we been able to claim the glory for this?"

"Whoever did it released some facts to the press. If we tired to say the ODF saved Waikiki, we would be quickly caught in an embarrassing lie."

Barnabas lifted his club, then swung it down. He sliced the ball into the woods a hundred meters away. "Find out who was behind it," he said, thrusting his club at Paul. "And soon. We have enough trouble with Earth, we do not need anymore."

"Yes sir," Paul said.

* * *

"If you don't pull up we are both going to die," Ree said calmly from where she sat in the head cockpit. In the combat cockpit Emiko was trying to keep the Manticore from impacting on the asteroid that was filling the screen. "Left foot pedal, full throttle and sharp to port," Ree told her.

Emiko followed the directions she had been given, the Manticore slowly beginning to climb away from the chunk of rock.

"This would be easier if you had a datalink," Ree told her. Emiko did not reply. "Skim the surface of the rock," Ree told her. "Keep everything steady, Get as close as you can."

Emiko fought the urge to close her eyes as she twisted the Manticore around and flew over the surface of the asteroid, keeping the flight steady. Finally she was clear and could move away from the chunk of rock.

"Well," Ree said. "You were about fifteen meters above the surface at all times. Your control is more or less there, now we need to work on your guts."

"What?"

"Four meters from the surface is what you should be trying to do."

"It's too close," Emiko said. The terrain is not even."

"Emi-chan, picture this. You got three suits on your tail, ahead of you is a ship, one of theirs. You make straight for it, then skim it a meter above its surface. The suits on your tail are wary about firing at you when you are so close to their ship. They are hesitating. You spin around and open fire on them. You'll get one for sure. maybe two if your good. Then you hit your thrusters and leave the ship behind with only one suit following you. Or maybe the suit you are following drops close to one of your ships, so you keep right behind it where you can fire at it safely. Fifteen meters does you no good."

"So I should try again," Emiko said, knowing that was what Ree was going to tell her.

"Yes. And faster this time."

"Hai oneechan."

* * *

"You're getting better," Ree told her as they worked on the Manticore.

"Doesn't feel like it."

"You are. Against a veteran pilot you'd be in a lot of trouble, but a cadet, you'd do all right, maybe."

"Well, seeing as I am not ever going to go into combat, I am not to worried."

"You never know. I've booked you an hour in the simulator tonight."

"I'll be there." Emiko finished checking the power system and closed up the hatch. "Mind if I go?"

"Diane got you next?"

"Yes. Karate, followed by her watching me swing a shinai around for about an hour."

"Lucky you."

"So is this all we are going to do? Practice?" Emiko asked. She did not think that was a bad idea.

"I think that is what Juan wants us to do. As for how long we will be able to do it?" She shrugged her shoulders.

"See you later oneechan," Emiko said as she climbed down the maintenance frame.

"Bye," Ree said, turning back to her work.

* * *

Ryu sat in the cramped passenger section of the SAC cutter. Across from him Sam was talking to one of the crew, the ship's navigator. She was a pretty young woman with a friendly demeanor. Ryu hardly gave her any thought.

The stop over in Gamma 4 had been very short, but not as short as Ryu would have preferred. They had arrived a day after the battle and things had been a mess. Everyone had been busy with repairs and other work and no had time to answer their questions. Finally they had found an Intelligence officer who had been able to give Ryu the information he needed.

Arcadia was his next stop. There he'd set up a field post to work out of. The Inner Circle wanted him to find out as much as he could, to discover any weaknesses, any they were willing to let him do things as he wanted. They did not care about Miya Emiko any longer. It was as Sam said, she was no longer a threat as she had no doubt shared the information she had stolen. In fact everyone was sure she had, the raid to get Belin proved that.

Still, as long as he did his job, anything else he did was his own business. They did not care about the Miya girl any longer. That was fine with him. They would not care when he killed her.

Sam was right. It had become personal, for a number of reasons. The girl, and whoever helped her, had outsmarted him, embarrassed him, and slipped through his fingers several times. He wanted her for that. She had also, by stealing that information, made it quite clear that she was against the USSA and the Gaians. After all that had been done to save the planet, and the people, anyone who put themselves opposite to them were no better than terrorists.

The claim the that the girl was Midnight Sun was true in spirit, if not in fact, as far as Ryu was concerned. It was true for anyone who stood against the Gaian philosophy.

He had felt that way for a long time. It was something that had been building up almost from the first day he had come back in from the outside. The day he had given up what he had thought was freedom for security. It had been building for a long time, almost thirty years. Now all of that was focused on Miya. She had become a symbol to him.

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, thinking what he would do to her when he caught up to her.

* * *

Redding Frost linked with the data cubes on his desk, examining all the reports that had been sent to him, his datalink helping him process all the data that had come in. He had returned to Libertatia to find that much had been happening in his short absence. The Battalion was growing, not as fast as they would have wanted, but faster than they had hoped. Their equipment stores were in better shape than they had thought they could be, they had made some new, possibly useful, friends and plans were well underway to do so much more.

Fresh in his mind, brought to the fore by the datalink, were reports that Lilith Blackhand had sent him on her new team. He turned his attention the man sitting across from him. "You are very good at your job."

"I try," Juan said, smiling slightly.

"Jesse has a high opinion of you."

"He'd doesn't like to admit it."

"He says you have a knack for knowing everything worth knowing. Shiva says much the same, but less politely."

"I've known both for a while."

"Tell me, what do you know about the SAC?"

"A little bit of this, a little bit of that."

"Vague."

"Your question was not very precise sir."

"True," Redding smiled for the first time. "Do you know that three years ago the SAC started stockpiling equipment, ammunition, even money, as certain places around the cluster, obviously preparing for something like this?"

"No," Juan said simply. "Why when a shunt cargo ship can get supplies anywhere, anywhen?"

"Always a chance normal supply lines might be cut. A little bit of redundancy is always useful."

Juan nodded.

"So you don't know everything," Redding said after a moment's silence.

"I never claimed I did. Personally I don't trust anyone who claims to know everything. I trust someone who actually does even less."

"Jesse was right," Redding chuckled. "You are hard to dislike as you are hard to like."

"Do you know where these stockpiles are Captain?"

"No, that I don't know," Redding's tone was somber. "I do know where to find that information."

"This is why you wanted to see me."

"I want you to go to Gamma 4 and get it, that information. Then we will raid those stockpiles."

"Which will increase our stores and deny the SAC of materials they may very well need," Juan nodded. "The only problem is getting the information."

"Your team is up to it," Redding said in a way the brooked no argument.

Juan smiled, wondering if he really believed that or just wanted Juan to think he did. "Even if we aren't, we'll do it."

"Good."

"I'll need all the information you have," Juan said.

"Here," Redding slid a small data brick across his desk. It bounced over a pen and both pen and disk floated into the air. Juan reached out and grabbed the brick. He let the pen fly by.

"Once I have the information, how are we going to get everything?"

"As long as you keep it quiet, we'll have all the time in the world. Shiva should be able to supply us with the men and ships for this. It is his area of specialization."

"I'm sure he will enjoy it."

"How is your team coming along?"

"Well enough. Combat wise we are all right, except for Emiko, and she's getting better."

"Watch out for Miss Miya, I know her father and do not want to see his daughter hurt."

"She will be fine. At least as fine as anyone can be in a war. Is there anything else sir?"

"Just to congratulate you on all the good work you have done."

"Thank you Captain." Juan got to his feet. "With your permission."

"Go. Get to work."

"Thank you." Juan saluted cockily, then left the office.

Redding turned his attention back to his reports once Juan was gone but he did not turn his thoughts from him. A capable man, Jesse was right about that one, but he was not perfect. Redding wondered if he knew that and just hid it well or if he really thought he was untouchable. Redding hoped it was the former, for his team's sake.

* * *

The Sloop John B. cut deeper into the atmosphere, the heat shielding on its nose beginning to glow a dull red. Inside Tern watched as Emiko worked on bringing the ship in.

"I think re-entry is the hardest thing you can do," he said, leaning back in his seat, hands behind his head, every now and then glancing over at Emiko. While he maintained an air of relaxed indifference, he was completely aware of what she was doing.

"Hai," Emiko said.

"Oh, combat and storms and all that are tough too, but re-entry, that is something else all together. I guess it is the 'one shot at it' feeling."

"Hai," Emiko said, no longer paying attention to what he said. The craft was behaving oddly as it cut into the atmosphere and she was trying to remember everything she had been taught. It was ridiculous, she had not even been flying for a month, she had a grand total of sixty three hours flight time, and more than half of that in a simulator, and now she was trying to perform re-entry.

Tern watched her. She was not doing too bad, though he suspected he was going to have to replace some of the heat shielding earlier than he had planned to and two of the cooling units had blown. "Hold tight," he said, changing the tone of his voice to make sure she heard. "It will get a bit rough. Just ride it through, maintain your angle of attack and wait."

"I understand," Emiko said.

She was ready when it got rough and she did as she had been taught, keeping the re-entry angle steady and waiting for the thickening atmosphere to slow her to safe speeds.

"Pull up," Tern said, "bring up the thrust units, begin to level the flight out, keep a tight hold on those controls. We're dropping right into a storm by the way."

"Great, thanks," Emiko said sarcastically as she began to level the ship out.

"Don't worry about the lightening, though it will be impressive. Worry about the winds. Watch the computer and the sensor read outs. Feel the storm out and don't fight it unless you have to."

"How would this be in a smaller craft?"

"A lot worse. Being sixty meters and one hundred and seventy five tones with enough thrust helps a lot. Actually, you could power right through this storm if you wanted."

"Why don't I do that that then?"

"Because you won't always be in a ship that can do that."

"Naruhodo," Emiko nodded.

"What?"

"I see."

"Good."

As they went deeper the winds became worse. Emiko did her best not to fight them but use them, or, slide through them instead of battering at them. Tern watched her, making the occasional comment.

A kilometer up Tern told her to simply fly right for the landing field. Once the thrusters were fully up the flight was a lot easier. The wind still battered at them, but the ship was not overly effected by that. Emiko watched the topographic map, looking for the features that marked the landing point. After a minute she saw them.

She circled the valley twice. Moving lower and lower. Once she was in the valley itself-shielded from some of the wind-she shifted to VTOL and dropped the ship gently towards the valley floor.

"You might want to put down the landing gear," Tern said.

Emiko felt her face grow hot as she reached forward, activating the controls to put the landing gear down.

"Not bad," Tern said once they were safely on the ground. "Too slow though. From the time we hit atmosphere till the time we put down took over thirty minutes. You should be able to do it in fifteen, maybe ten. You also need to get a feel for this. You rely to much on your instruments. That will come with time though. Congratulations Emiko, you have successfully completed a re-entry."

"Thank you," Emiko said, sinking into the pilot's seat.

"Let's go out and find the others."

* * *

A few minutes later, after they had put on some warm clothing and filter masks, they left the ship, stepping out into the cold air of Kimble 6. The main star, Kimble, was a blue, putting out harsh radiation. All the planets near to it were uninhabitable. The sixth was a small world, shielded from the primary by distance.

Kimble 6 was a cold, dry world whipped by constant storms and constant earthquakes as it was tectonically unstable. Still, an attempt had been made to set up a mining colony several years before. After a year it had been decided that running the operation was too expensive. The company had pulled out, leaving a lot of equipment behind. Tern had told Emiko that it had been cheaper to abandon it.

The mines had turned out to be an excellent place for a temporary, very temporary as far as everyone was concerned, base of operations. It was fairly close to Gamma 4 and a few other important locations.

Tern led her towards a bright light ahead that marked the mine entrance. Once they were within the wind died down quite a bit. The deeper they went, the warmer it became. Emiko could still see her breath, but after the temperature outside it seemed much better down there.

A short time later they found Juan waiting for them.

"How she do?" Juan asked.

"We're here aren't we?" Tern said.

"Are you two ready?"

"Fine," Emiko said.

"Got anything to eat?" Tern asked.

"We'll find something." Juan said, then turned and walked away.

"So, what's the deal." Tern followed Juan, Emiko a step behind him.

"We've got everything set up. Captain Frost got us an SAC cutter to use. It's clean."

"So, I'm your pilot flunky?"

"That's it."

"So all I have to do is fly?"

"That's it."

"Sounds easy enough."

"What am I doing," Emiko asked.

"You're my aide."

"So who are you?"

"Commander Dennis Graham. Fleet Intelligence, on a fact finding junket."

Emiko nodded. It sounded good, and if they had the correct authorizations there was no reason why it should not work.

Juan led them thought a heat lock into a small room carved out of the rock. It was furnished simply with a few folding chairs, some bunks and a table. Emiko took off her jacket then pulled the filter mask free, noting no one else wore them. Ree was there, as was Diane, Captain Blackhand and a some others, probably Charybdis.

"Take a seat," Juan said. "We'll make this quick." There was a data cube on the table, with a holo-projector clipped onto it. He reached out and touched it.

Everyone sat, except for Tern who walked over to the table to get some coffee and something to eat.

"Gamma 4's main orbital facility is a cylinder colony, eight kilometres long, one and a half diameter. No transparent panels to let in sunlight, it is enclosed and armoured," he told them. The projector painted a picture in the air with light. Emiko suspected that the projector was for her, that everyone else was connected to the data via datalink. "They've got living quarters in there, a park, entertainment section and the few factories. Basically it serves as the R&amp;R centre for SAC out here."

A moment later a lattice work formed around the cylinder. "A hundred meters out from the colony's surface is a frame. It is covered with antimech weapons and a few antiship guns, but most of this is used for docking of ships. It is easy and fast. The colony is equipped with a sublight and shunt drive. The ODF is understandably worried about this thing showing up on their door step as it were.

"Currently," he continued, "there are ten battle riders, mostly older models, permanently assigned to it. Before the attack there were fifteen. They are building what can only be called battleships as another tether craft, but they are not scheduled to be completed for at least another four months.

"Beside it is an orbital factory where they do zero-G work," the cylinder seemed to shrink then a second structure was painted near it. It was a series of globe modules joined by tubes. "Nothing special really, it took some heavy hits during the battle and is has been abandoned until it can be repaired.

"The main base, where they do most of their building, is located on Gamma 4," the two orbital constructs shrunk even more before a quarter of a planet was added. It was a ball of grey rock, no signs of oceans, a sky empty of clouds, no green on the planet. "What can I say. An ugly, well defended place where they are building ships and mechs. The ODF got a cruiser into the atmosphere and dumped a lot of ordinance on it. Took out a few factories, destroyed a number of ships, including a carrier that was being built. Huge mess down there right now.

"We won't be going ground side. We can find everything we want in the cylinder. Basically we shunt in, dock, give them our cover story, and walk in."

"What exactly is our cover story?" Emiko asked.

"With the unexpected effectiveness of the ODF's forces, Earth has sent me to examine the cylinder to see if it might be retrofitted to handle combat better. The commander, General Karl Mass, has been requesting such action for over three years now. He'll be overjoyed to see us and will let us do whatever we damn well please."

"We have all the identification and authorization?"

"I wouldn't be trying this if we didn't."

Emiko nodded. "I'll be handling the computers?"

"Of course. What do you think time wise?"

"I'm familiar with the SAC's systems, but even so, a few hours, at least. I think we are looking at about nine or ten hours."

"You have four."

"What if I can't get it in four?"

"We abort and leave."

"No pressure," Emiko said softly.

"I take it Tern will sit tight in the cutter, keeping the engine running," Ree said. "What about me?"

"You'll be sitting in your Manticore, keeping the engine running. The techs are giving it a more SAC paint job right now."

"I hate their colour scheme," Ree said.

"It will attract less attention that way."

"Just make sure you paint it back afterward."

"I'll be with you I take it," Diane said.

"You got it."

"What will you be doing?" Diane looked over at Lilith.

"Hopefully nothing. I'll bring my cruiser in and stay cloaked and close just in case you get in more trouble than you can handle. Me uncloaking anywhere near that base is very unlikely by the way. I'd much rather you send the information to me and then I run and you die."

"Makes sense. And then?"

"We rendezvous at Libertatia and share out the information. Then we head off to plunder the stockpiles."

"Sounds workable."

"When do we go?" Emiko asked.

"About six hours. It will be another eight hours before we get to the cylinder."

"Do we have an exact plan once we get on board or is this a make it up as we go?" Ree asked.

"A make it up as we go. My itinerary only gives me eight hours aboard. I'm sure I can get at least four hours alone, but when those four hours will be I don't know. I also don't know what sort of clearance I'll be able to weasel out of General Mass. Until I get on ground, I can't be sure of anything."

"Great," Ree shook her head. "Contingency plans?"

"Run like hell if things go bad."

"I like that."

"This cutter, standard issue?" Tern asked.

"The engines have been tweaked to give you a little more speed," Lilith told him. "Watch them though, I've been told they can be temperamental."

"I've never blown an engine," Tern said.

"Any other questions?" Juan asked. When no one had any he said, "Okay, let's get to work."

* * *

Emiko watched as they closed on the cylinder colony. She had moved into the head of the Manticore to get the best view. Ree was still in the cutter, asleep. Ever since they had shunted into the area Emiko had been feeling nervous. No one else seemed to be bothered and they had cleared all identification challenges.

"Emiko-kun, get in here," she heard Diane call.

Emiko took a deep breath and climbed over the chair and then back out the airlock, into the ship. Her jacket was just where she left it, floating in the air. She grabbed it as she went by, floating into the small galley deck. After Tern's ship she found the cutter to be very cramped.

Juan and Diane were there, both wearing SAC dress uniforms. Juan had added some gray to his hair and some padding under his clothing. It made him look a little older, enough to justify his rank as a commander.

"Are you ready?" he asked Emiko.

"Yes sir," she said, pulling on her jacket.

"Good to hear it."

Emiko floated over to the a set of shelves and unstrapped a briefcase. She opened it up and looked through it, making sure her computer was ready to go. There were also some tools and a small sub-machine gun in there that Diane had pressed on her.

Emiko watched Diane and Juan for a moment, then tried to copy their calm appearance. She was wearing the right clothes, she had all the ID she needed and she knew what to do. Acting like an aide was not very hard. No one was going to take any special notice of her. Telling herself that forced some of the worry away, but not all of it. She hoped the small sense of unease she felt would just help her stay sharp instead of making her look nervous.

They docked on the lattice work with all the other ships. Less than a minute later a transport suit locked onto their ship, mating its chest airlock with their starboard one.

"Time to go," Juan said, pulling on his cap.

The transport suit was an odd looking mech. It had a large, barrel like chest, with short legs and thin arms. The pilot rode up in the head and passengers were carried in the chest compartment. Inside the suit they found a Lieutenant Commander waiting for them.

"Sir," he saluted Juan. "I'm Lieutenant Commander Carlson."

Juan returned the salute, then smiled. "At ease. This thing is too cramped for formalities. Carlson, this is my Aide, Ensign Yamoto," he indicated Emiko, "and my security specialist, Lieutenant Bias," he said, looking at Diane.

"Pleased to meet you both," he nodded at them.

"Let's go," Juan said, taking a seat.

"Yes sir," Carlson reached over and toggled the intercom unit. "Henderson, take us in."

A moment later the suit cut free of the cutter, moving back from it, then spinning around, flying through the lattice work, heading for the colony's surface. It moved along the surface until it reached one of the locks, then matched its speed to he cylinder's spin so it appeared to be hovering a meter above the gate.

When the gate opened the suit's arms grabbed handholds, then swung its legs down into foot holds. A moment later it had pulled itself into the colony and the gate closed. The pilot stood the suit, then moved forward to another gate. That gate opened once the airlock had pressurized and the pilot stepped into a large docking bay.

Inside Juan and the others waited for the jerking to stop. Once it did the Lieutenant Commander undid his restraint harness and walked to the hatch, opening it. A set of boarding stairs had been wheeled up to the suit and locked into place. He stood aside to let Juan disembark first, then followed after him, Diane and then Emiko behind him.

With no ceremony, they were led from the bay, up to the street level of the colony. There a car took them to the administration offices. Juan left Emiko and Diane behind as he was shown into Captain Mass' office.

"Sir," Juan said, saluting before he entered the office.

"At ease Commander," the Captain said as he stood up from behind his desk. "James, would you leave us," he said to the Lieutenant Commander.

"Sir." He saluted, then left, closing the door behind him.

"Have a seat Commander," he indicated the seat in front of his desk.

"Thank you sir," Juan said as he sat.

"I know you have limited time here," Karl said as he took his seat. "So let's get down to facts. I want this cylinder's defensive and offensive capabilities beefed up. With the shunt drive it is obviously the best way to move large amounts of materials around. It could become a dreadnought for all of our operations in this cluster."

"Yes, we are aware of your desires. I must admit I was impressed with your design for a non shunt battleship."

"Shunt drives are expensive," he said. "Those ships will carry more armament than any other craft in our fleet and yet cost less than a cruiser. With a moveable base like this to support them, they could easily become the most effective ship in our fleet."

"I have read all your proposals," Juan lied. "And I think most of them are quite well thought out, but at this point in time, budgetary concerns make many hesitant to initiate such a costly venture."

Karl slammed his hand against his desk. "Just like them," he said. "They are worried about money because they have to build up their forces with this war here. I can understand that, but three years ago, when I started making the requests, they had the funds. Now they need this but they cant afford to do anything."

"That sums it up," Juan said. "Still, there are some who do think we need this structure to take a more offensive role in the upcoming hostilities. That is why I am here."

"I must say I am glad you are here but I am not happy about your limited time frame. You need more than eight hours to do this."

"I agree, but eight hours is all I have Captain. I'll do my best to ensure that a thorough report is presented."

"Good man," Karl said. "You better begin now. I'll have James show you around."

"Thank you sir," Juan said. Having James as a tour guide was not his idea of the best way to handle things. He would make do. "If I may?"

"By all means." Karl stood and Juan quickly got to his feel, moving away from the chair.

"Thank you sir." Juan saluted.

"Dismissed," Karl said.

Juan turned and walked to the door, opening it. On the threshold he turned and saluted again, then left.

* * *

Karl nodded after the commander had left, pleased. The commander looked like he knew what he was doing, and he thought right. The cylinder, properly set up, could become the greatest war craft ever.

And he the greatest commander ever.

* * *

"How secure is the main computer?" Juan asked James after they had finished touring the one of the barracks.

"Barring a direct assault on the building it is in, gaining unauthorized access is impossible. Would you like to see it?" James asked him. He had obviously been told to make sure the 'commander' saw everything he wanted to.

"Do we have time." Juan looked back at Emiko.

"I'm not sure sir," she said, looking at her watch. "You still want to talk to the engineers."

"We'll have time," James told him with certainty.

"Okay," Juan nodded, "lead on."

The cylinder's main computer was located in a unremarkable building near the main administration offices. As James lead them though it he told them that the system was completely secure, and was not even connected to the hyperweb. He finally brought them into the room where the computer system itself was housed.

It was a large space, full of programmers and analysts, doing their jobs. No one really paid much attention to the visitors. Juan looked politely interested in what was being pointed out, Emiko and Diane looked bored.

The calm in the room was broken on their way out. Emiko bumped into a man and was knocked back, almost pushing a work station off a desk. Her briefcase went flying from her hands.

"I got it," Diane said, louder than she needed to as she moved quickly across the room, grabbing the briefcase. She was off balance though and almost fell. Her wild movements as she tired to maintain her balance attracted everyone's attention. Finally she got her feet firmly under her.

"Are you finished Lieutenant?" Juan asked her frostily.

"Sorry sir," she said.

"And what about you Ensign?" He turned to look at Emiko.

"Sorry sir," she said, pushing herself our from behind a piece equipment. "I'm," she stopped suddenly and cried out in pain.

"What is it Ensign?"

"I think I sprained my ankle sir."

Juan shook his head. "I don't have time for this," he said softly. "Is there a sick bay or something close by where my aide can get her ankle looked at?" he asked.

"There is one in the building," the man Emiko had run into said. "I can take her there."

"Fine. Ensign, meet us in front of the administration building half an hour before we are to leave," he told her. "Lieutenant Commander, we still have some things to see."

"Yes sir."

Diane came back to hand Emiko her briefcase then went after Juan and James.

The programmer took her to the building's infirmary then left her there in the doctor's care. The doctor looked at her ankle and told her he did not think it was sprained. When he examined her foot she told him it hurt a little when he moved it. He used an ultrasound to rule out a fracture, then told her it was probably nothing but decided to put ice on it.

"Leave that on until it feels better," he said. "When you are ready to go, tell me and I'll have someone escort you out."

"Thank you sir," Emiko said. "Would it be all right if I stayed here for a while?" she asked him. "I have some work to do and no where to be for about four hours."

"Go ahead," he told her, smiling.

"Thank you."

He left her alone in the examining room, telling her it was not likely anyone would bother her for a few hours. Emiko took her computer from her bag and turned it on. The transmitter she had placed on the computer under the cover of her fall was working perfectly.

Smiling, she went to work.

* * *

Emiko blinked, not sure of what to make of the data on her screen even as she countered the alarm that she had triggered. It took her a moment to realize she was looking at an old style Black program. She quickly isolated it before it damaged more of her software, then purged her systems and loaded uncorrupted copies from her backup store. A secondary computer kept the connection open while she had been working so she was still in.

Everything taken care of she realized the full extent of what had happened. A Black Virus had been worked into the computer's security system; and a very nasty one at that. It was a throw back to another time. Had she been directly hooked up to the computer through a datalink, she would probably be dead. Her hands were shaking slightly.

She took her fingers from the keyboard and hugged herself. That felt as if had come too close.

A minute later she went back to work, sliding by the trigger for the Black Virus and working her way deeper and deeper into the system.

Several minutes later, ten minutes before her time limit was to come up, she found what she was looking for. A few seconds later it was all copied and stored in her files. A minute to clean up all traces of her work and then she shut off her computer and returned it to her briefcase.

The transmitter she had placed on the computer would stop transmitting and burn itself out in a few minutes. Assuming no one decided to take a close look at the back of any of the workstations it was possible it would never be found.

She stood and walked towards the door of the examination room. Just before opening the door she remembered to limp slightly.

* * *

Emiko was waiting in front of the administration building when the car carrying Juan and Diane pulled up. Juan thanked the Lieutenant Commander, made all the polite noises then told him they would be leaving. He asked James to apologize to the Captain for him as he would not be able to properly say goodbye.

Once they had finished saluting and the Lieutenant Commander had gone back into the building, Emiko walked up to Juan and saluted.

"So Ensign, how is you ankle?"

"Still a little sore, but functional."

"Good. Any other problems."

"None at all sir."

"Let's go then," he said, getting back into the car. Emiko got in the front beside the driver.

Diane and Juan talked about the tour, discussing the merits of the Captain's plan and the costs. The driver looked bored. Emiko said nothing.

A few minutes later the driver dropped them off close to the mech bay then asked if they needed an escort. Emiko told him that would not be needed and he left.

Emiko followed after Juan and Diane as they headed under the streets, taking the walkways that would lead to the bay they wanted. Emiko took more time to look around, noting the other bays they passed through. Many had mechs or fighters in them, though none of the bays were full.

Juan and Diane had gotten a little farther in front of her, her faked limp was slowing her down a little. She began to move faster to catch up. Ahead of her she saw them move to the side of the walkway so a group to three men could pass by. They were Wardens, Emiko realized, recognizing the uniforms. There was nothing odd in that. Wardens had always worked closely with the SAC, now they worked even closer. There was, however, something about them that she thought was familiar.

The one near the back of the group moved to walk beside the other two. Emiko began to run, giving up the pretence of the limp, her hand slid into her jacket. The one that had moved from the back looked up. Maybe because of the sound of running, maybe for some other reason. His eyes widened.

Emiko got to him before he could say anything, slamming into him, actually knocking him back a little. She had her pistol out, the barrel jammed into the bottom of his jaw. She looked up at him and smiled uncertainly. "Konichiwa oniichan."

"Emiko?" he stared down at his sister, obviously trying to make sense of what was happening.

"Don't move," one of the other Wardens said, he had his pistol pointed at the back of Emiko's head.

"I suggest that you don't move," Diane said, standing close by, a pistol in each hand.

"I can't believe this," Juan said, leaning against the railing, head in hands.

"Emiko-chan, what are you doing?" Makoto demanded.

"Doing my best to keep this from exploding in all our faces," Emiko told him. "Please don't tell mom about this."

"I think we have a bit of a standoff here," the warden holding the gun on Emiko said.

"Not at all," Diane said, shooting both the Wardens. The gun was nearly silent, using pressurized air to launch small darts. The one holding the gun on Emiko looked at the dart sticking out of the back of his wrist, then fell forward, unconscious.

"Oniichan, gomen na sai," Emiko said, stepping back from him.

Diane shot him, putting a dart in his shoulder. Emiko tried to catch him as he fell forward but she ended up falling herself.

"Ow," she said from under her brother.

"You all right?" Diane asked as she rolled Makoto off Emiko and helped her to her feet.

"Hai."

"Come on, they'll be out for about an hour."

"This is really bad," Juan said, starting off.

"Sorry," Emiko said.

"Couldn't be helped. They'll figure out why we were here though," he said. "This mission is shot to hell," he stopped suddenly. "Unless…"

"Unless what?" Diane asked.

"What if we were here for some other reason?" Juan stared moving again, lengthening his pace.

"Like sabotage?"

"Just like sabotage."

"What?"

"The shunt drive."

"How?"

"That I'm not sure of."

"Could Ree do it?" Emiko asked.

"Now there is an idea."

* * *

Ree stood in the middle of the galley, pulling the baggy skin suit on. Once it was on she pressed the seal button on the wrist. The suit's memory fibres constricted, making the suit so tight that it left little to the imagination. That was just the way Ree liked it.

It was dark blue, with silver highlights. It was also marked with ODF insignia. She had not worn the suit since the day she had last flown for the ODF. She would have to get a new suit made, she thought, pulling a roll of duct tape from her bag. Tearing a few strips off the roll, she quickly covered the insignia with the black tape.

She grabbed her recycler lung and her flight jacket and made her way forward. Diane had sent her a scrambled link message telling her what they wanted her to do. It was going to be fun.

* * *

Even before the starboard airlock sealed Juan was running towards the forward hatch. The hatch was closed, Ree had already sealed it and descended into the combat cockpit. He pressed the intercom button. "Ree,"

"Yeah?" Ree asked calmly.

"We'll be heading out slow at first, it will give you time to catch up. The best way to get to the shunt drive is to go through the ports for their sublight drive. That will put you in engineering."

"Okay."

"One shot into the shunt drive should do it. Don't do anything fancy, in and out, get it done."

"Isn't that how you have sex?"

"Ree, no jokes."

"Relax Juan, I am the best. I'm cutting loose as soon as Tern gets us a kilometre away from the base."

"Good hunting," he told her.

* * *

Ree watched as they base dropped away from the base, at least that was how it looked to her. She watched the range finder, then popped the locks, hitting her thrusters, leaving the cutter behind. She slid through the lattice work easily, then swung around, heading for the rear of the cylinder.

There were five thrust ports arranged in a circular pattern on the cylinder's stern. Any of them would do. All of them were covered by an armoured cap. The Manticore's huge cannon swung up and locked into place even as she was flying at the starboard most port. Two bursts were enough to tear the cap into lace and the Manticore just ripped through it.

Ree wondered how long it might take them to fire up the engines, filling the tube she was moving through with plasma. After a second she stopped worrying about it as there was nothing she could do to stop it.

She reached the central reaction chamber and blew a hole into it, passing out of it, into engineering.

The shunt drive was right there, just waiting for her. She hovered ten meters above the floor, the thruster wash from her HA causing the unfortunate engineers more problems that they obviously did not need.

Ree opened fire, one burst into the huge drive, then she flew backwards, through the hole she had made only seconds before. Ten seconds later she was out of the cylinder, making her way towards her rendezvous with the cutter.

* * *

Command and control did not know what to do. The earlier attack by the ODF had made things a little chaotic. They were still not even sure what had happened. They had too many reports coming in, few that agreed on anything.

It took them nearly twenty minutes to piece everything together. Twenty minutes during which a faster than normal cutter had been running, getting clear of the gravity well. If they did not catch it in an hour it would be gone.

Fighters and interceptors were launched.

* * *

Ree slid her Manticore through the Cavalier's fire then tore one of the fighters wings off. Holding the wing up like a shield, she rode out another fighter's fire then opened up on it with the gauss pistol. She watched as it spun out of control.

"Ree, how you holding up," Juan asked.

"Minor damage, the pistol is almost empty, as are my missile racks. Other than that, everything is fine. How long till we can shunt?"

"Three minutes. Can you hold out?"

"No problem," she told him, looking at her sensors. "I got a Zephyr coming in that will be here in about thirty seconds, but I can handle it."

"Get back here as soon as you can. Diane is sitting in the gunnery chair. Anything you lead back is not a problem."

"I won't be leading anything back."

Ree waited for the Zephyr to get up close. She was not surprised when it launched it's swarm missiles. She corkscrewed in towards it, opening up with her phalanx gun. The tight loops threw the missiles off, made her hard to hit target, but got her where she wanted to be.

The other pilot as gone though, climbing high, firing down at her. Ree twisted her suit out of the way. The other pilot was good.

* * *

Carly had been putting her new Zephyr through its paces, getting used to how it behaved when everything went crazy at the cylinder. When she heard the reports she had decided to go after the cutter and suit.

She really did not think that she would catch it in time to be of any help, there were a lot of other units going after it, but it was another good test. There was another reason though. The suit that had hit the cylinder had been a Manticore.

By the time she was closing the Manticore had already taken out two Galliards, three Cavaliers, had crippled a battle rider and three other interceptors had fallen to it. That spoke of an incredible pilot.

When she saw the Manticore avoid her missiles she had no doubt about it. That was the woman who had taken her and her team out.

She climbed as soon as she was sure. Firing down at the Manticore. It avoided her fire and returned it with the pistol, forcing her to roll hard to her port side. She was amazed at how fast the other pilot had managed to put her back on the defensive.

Spinning around, she dropped in behind the other suit, firing at it. She managed a few grazing shots, chipping the armour, but nothing that did serious damage. A movement she had been watching for came suddenly. She climbed rapidly as the Manticore spun around. She had given up the tail but had avoided the blast of fire from the pistol.

She dove back at it, pulling the sabre free from her suit's mounts. Breaking protocol she turned on her radio. "This time you're dead."

* * *

As Ree fired off her thrusters, barely avoiding the sword stroke of the Zephyr she realized she had faced the other pilot before. She had broken the tail at just the right time, and there was the radio transmission that she had made. This fight was personal.

Ree couldn't have been happier. That animosity, that human touch, she had always thought that was what made combat flying so romantic. You made enemies in a way no other person in combat could.

So the pilot knew some of her techniques. Fine. Ree had many more.

She kept the other suit in front of her at all times, jerking the Manticore around hard to do it. She never got a clear shot at it, but she never intended to. She knew the other pilot would come to her soon enough. The other suit was armed with a sword and shield. It was a close in fighter and she knew the pilot would get mad.

* * *

Carly tried to get in behind the suit, tried to get on its tail again. It wasn't letting her. It could not hit her, but she couldn't hit it either. She could just picture the other pilot, smiling, maybe laughing. She had fought several other fights, her suit was a little beat up, and still Carly could not end the fight.

She kicked her suits thrusters on full, rocketing towards the other suit. At the last moment she twisted her suit around, flying right over the Manticore, dropping her sword to cut across its shoulder. It was not a deep cut, but it was a successful attack.

She climbed fast, avoiding another burst from its pistol. Now she had her, Carly thought. She swung her suit around and charged the other again. She twisted her suit around again, sliding around its lower port side. She managed to get more force behind her blow that time and cut deep into the leg.

You're mine, Carly thought as she dove below it, avoiding its fire.

* * *

Ree ignored the alarms going off in her suit. She was smiling. It had taken her a little while to understand what the other pilot was doing, how she was doing it, but she knew.

She kept up the same tactics as before, jerking around, keeping the other pilot in front of her. She maintained that strategy up to the moment before the other suit was going to slide around her, then she stopped moving and reached out, grabbing the other unit's heat sabre.

The Zephyr was jerked to a sudden stop, obviously the pilot had not been ready for that. The Manticore's fingers were damaged, but still operable. Ree kept a tight hold on the heat sabre as she lashed out with the suit's other hand, crushing the Zephyr's head, getting a tight grip on its shoulders. Smiling, she released her suit's the hold on the sabre, moving the massive hand up to the other suit's arm.

* * *

Carly was beginning to panic. The other suit had countered her attack so quickly she was still not sure what happened. She had lost all her sensors with the head and was basically blind but for some torso mounted cameras. She was desperately trying to reach the rifle with her suit's free hand when alarms started sounding. A moment later the Zephyr's right arm was torn from the socket.

As if to add insult to injury, the Manticore maintained its hold on her suit's shoulder while laying into the Zephyr with its own arm.

For a moment Carly thought she was dead. Alarms began going off, a crack in the cockpit appeared, atmosphere began to leak out, her controls began to short out. Then it was over. It took her a moment to realize that the other suit had simply let her go and was flying off. She worked her controls, trying to get her suit to do something, but nothing responded.

Then the other suit turned around, the huge cannon swinging up, locking into place.

* * *

Ree lined the other suit up in her sights and gently squeezed the trigger. She suddenly shifted her aim down, blowing off its lower leg instead. She did not want that other woman dead. At least not like that.

Spinning her suit about, she headed back to the cutter. Juan would be wanting to shunt soon. According to her scanners there were several ships closing in on them. She turned her radio on, setting up a tight beam to the other suit. "Hope they don't make you pay for the repairs."

Childish, Ree thought as she cut the connection, but fun.

* * *

Ending Credits Stay by Lisa Loeb

* * *

**MC-1-CT (Star Bus)**

Colony Transport (CTs) were designed to handle the rotation of colonies, be they cylinders or ring colonies. A CT can easily dock with a moving lock, allowing much faster transport between colonies and ships.

The Star Bus is a fairly simple and cheap craft, designed to do one thing and do it well. It is an odd looking mech, with its huge chest, small head, thin legs and spindly arms. It is manoeuvrable enough to do the job.

The pilot rides in the head, there is space in the chest cockpit for up to fourteen people, though it is a little tight, and its back pack unit can hold 2 tones of cargo if needed. It also has a damage control package included, should anything go wrong. A spot light mounted on its head completes the package. The design team did think of putting an antitheft lock on it before someone pointed out no one would want to steal it.

There are several other versions of this suit, including an ambulance and a fire fighting unit.

17.6 tones, 14meters, cost, 54.43cp.

Flight MA 8, Land MA 6, MV -1

Striker Sensors in Head

Torso Striker (4 kills) SP2

Head Light Weight SP2

ArmsX2 Super Light SP2

LegsX2 Light Weight SP2

Pod Light Weight SP2

Cockpit in the head for pilot, canopy, screen.

7 passenger cockpits in the torso

Stereo

Spotlight

Storage Module X4

Damage Control Package in torso

QCM X6

Standard Power Cell

Environmental Protection-Space

Statistical subtraction -2 to cool (this represents the fact it is hard to feel cool flying around in the mech version of Mr. Potato Head™.)

**MM-8B-DLR-INT**

Team Tsunami put forth a number of variants on the standard 8B. The DRL (dueller) was one of those that is currently undergoing field testing.

The modifications are simple. The assault and attack missiles were pulled, as well as the knife. These were replaced with a light weight, though expensive, sword (6K AP) and shield (5SP). This variant also boasted and ACE system (+33%), developed form stolen plans of the ODF's Vogel fighter. While not quite the system that the Vogel has, it is an improvement on the 8B.

While the 8B DLR can still function as a standard interceptor, it is also a deadly in close unit, using superior speed and manoeuvrability to hit its opponent then get away.

Only ten units have been constructed to date. If the design proves effective, more may be built at a ratio of one DLR for every four interceptors.


End file.
